No health care 2004 = no kidneys 2008

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/11/741061/-This-is-what-losing-your-kidneys-looks-like

This is what losing your kidney function looks like.

This is what a diabetic who didn't have health care for a year and a half looks like.

This is what our glorious 'uniquely American' system of health insurance looks like.

This is what a dialysis patient looks like on dialysis. It's peritoneal dialysis, so there are no needles to see, no blood flowing through a machine. What you see here is in my bedroom. I am connected to a machine called a cycler which is behind me on the table. The table is about as long as a standard computer desk and is a kitchen table; it holds the dialysis suppplies I need to keep nearby, my flexi-caps, mini-caps, masks, cassettes, drain bags, and some patient extensions. There are more patient extensions on top of the bookshelf, hanging over a bit.

This is what not having health care for a year and a half when you're diabetic and have high blood pressure looks like.

This is what our American health care system looks like. It is as broken as my kidneys.

I don't want sympathy; I want single payer universal health care. I don't want pity; I want single payer universal health care. I don't want commiseration; I want...

I want this not to happen to anybody else's kidneys.
I want this not to happen to a single other woman, or man, or child.
I want people in this country to get the preventive care they need to keep this from happening. I want them to get the chronic care they need to keep this from happening.

This is the reason 3/4 of the people want guvmint run healthcare.

the personal side of this tragedy, not just the endless "we gotta cut costs" crap.