My run in with the health care we have now , was again in 1994 , when my husband had a stroke we went to the hospital right away called 911 , every thing was fine until we got to the emgerency room , my husband was talking when we got there , a couple of hours later he was in a coma, I was beyond what any one should have to go through any way my husband had three , good insurances, well that what I throught , well three days later the hospital called  ask me to call my insurance  because the insurance was refurseing to pay for my husband  emergency room care well you know I called the insurance companys when I ask what was the problem thease people said I was suppose to called and get a ok before we go into the hospital I tried to explain to them there was no time to call my husband was having a stroke  , well I got off the phone went back to the hospital my husband was still in the coma ,I stayed by my husbands side for the whole time , again the Doctors starded to ask me about taking my husband off the machines , so don't tell me about how bad things will get I  have all ready been through hell  with the insurances we have in place now ,every things fine until some one gets really sick , well thats when we need the insurance to work, not when we have a cold or something less,  well I loss my husband three month later the insurance people was saying to me you know your husband only have 190 days of hospital coverage and we wont pay beyond that , well it was the same as telling me he needs to leave this hospital alive or dead .

As I listen to all the talk on health care, I remember what can really happen in real life , it **** for me in 1972, when my mother learned she had cancer, I took time off without pay to move back where my mother lived to make sure she was going to be alright, well we learned my mother needed an operation to have her kinnedy removed with her insurance she could only stay in the hospital five days she had been signed out before I could go home pick up clothes I needed and come back , my mother was in terrible pain so I call the Doctor to see what we could do he said the insurance only pays for some things that I would have to pay for the rest so we said please do what you need to just help my mother ,  when her pain was so bad she was screaming in pain I would take her back to the hospital and demand help for her the hospital would keep her 7 days I  know because I stayed with her every day she was there when we would leave the hospital I would ask for medicine  so my mother would not suffer so much. what we got did not work at all, this went on for three month, I would begg my mother to plese not get tired and give up I know it must have been hard on her now, if,any one wants to talk about end of life  stuff well the Doctors at the hospital would come into the room  and say she not going to make it what do you want to do are you ready to let her go I wanted to say hell no no one ever ready for any thing like that, what I would say is let me think and talk about it later, well my mother passed away a mounth later I stayed every night with her I was with her that night also I went to get the nurse walked back into the room sat by my mother held on to her hand I wnted to scream and cry , but I would do that later my mother needed me then, at times like that you are made to feel like nonething because theres not a lot of money when someone gets sick what you have goes fast  my mother died in 72  God bless her, it took 15 years to pay off what the insurance did not cover,

Our dog Buster passed away , we are really sad, he was part of our family , was my brothers dog but we all took care of him after my brother passed away a little over a year ago, Pearlines ok we took her out today , had her hair done  shes standing in front of the mirror  pulling at the curls now, (smile) well I  have to get dinner started .

We had a good day , saw Pearlines  Doctor , she  recived new medicine , lets hope it works I returned home learned Michael Jackson had passed away , i am so sorry ,I wish his famaly the best, may God be with them now.

As Pearline would say when things are not so bad, I am doing a hundred  meaning in her mind she feels ok , well today we are ok , I pray to God that some how some one will come up with a cure , we really need one , my eyes are red from no sleep my health is suffering from lack of rest, but we are going to make it , please God give me the strengh.

I remember Pearline ,as a young child she would comb and braid my hair as I am dioing for her now she would  take me to town as I do for her now, she and my big brother would pick me up from school ,take me to the movies  we were very poor not much money , some times I would cry as most kid will and say I don't have shoes like the other girls or a coat , this was true ,she would find a way to get it for me,  now let me tell you about my mother I learned so much from her as a small girl I  would go with my mother to look after neighbors who were sick , back then in the south we all had wood burning stoves so we would try to get to the sick persons house early to get their fire starded we would make the fire get the house warmed up then my mother would wash the person up and give them medicine and then she would cook food for them, we would then bring in more water no runing water in the house we had to go to the pump and get water in buckets bring them back to the persons house to make sure there was enough water for every thing it was needed for, then my mother would get all dirty clothes together to take back to our house to wash now we had no washing machine we had a tin tub and a wash board my mother would boil the clothes in an iron pot out side then wash them on our wash board hang them outside on a cloth line when the wash was dry and ready to fold up to take back to the sick person , those clothes was bright and fresh to this day I have never seen a fresher wash I still have my mothers iron pot , I learned so much from my mother , she would help any body that needed help    she would sit by the bed side until the person got better, I konw if my mother was here she would be looking out for Pearline my mother passed away in 1972 I rearry miss her , she and Pearline taught me so much , how to plant a garden , how to make my own soap , make wine, make beer, how to can fruit and make home baked bread so many thing to thank thease women for  I after my moter when she took sick , and I will look afte rPearline.

We stard our day at around six o'clock , Pearline s unable to sleep at night so she wants to stay up we watch television I read a book to her, or just talk to her, this can go on for hours at a time, after a long night she will sleep for around an hour, we will get up then I will get her washed up and dressed , take her to the kitchen and  get her food ready , give her the medicine she needs , keep an eye on her until she finish eating , then clean her hands and wipe her mouth ,I need to do all this because if I give Pearline  a towel  ,paper or cloth ,she will put it in her mouth and try to eat it  I need to watch her so she can't wander out side theres a house next door she thinks it her house that her husband over there and she needs to go home and cook dinner ,its hard to try to talk her through that , I will walk her back into the kitchen  give her juce and water , some times she will drink it or if I am not watching  she will pour the  stuff out all over the table , when she at the table she can see herself in the mirror ,I call it the lady in the mirror , she will talk  to herself for a brief time she can't recognize herself any more, well we work around that , I learned to take care of pearline  means not having any time for my self  , Pearline is part of my family so I am trying to do the best I can  but I do need help, and what I wrote is not the heavy stuff,[smile] 

Pearline is a very special lady,     lost her memory to alzheimers  she lived in the south all her life , had time to travel , she learned to cook early in life great cook ,made her own clothes ,love to fish, hunt , work in her garden  had her own peach and plum trees ,  drove her own truck ,worked with young people to keep them on the right track, went to church every sunday and some week days , any person having trouble could go to her and she was there to help , when her mother took sick this lady took care of her until her death in .19 99  also this lady  never had any kids but she became mother to her sisters son  until his death in ,1987  she joined the Eastern star a good member, thease are some of the things Iwant to tell you about Pearline,oh, she worked all her life started out in the cotton fields ,retired from a factory job she was very proud of that job because a while back people who looked like her could not get jobs in factorys, now about me she was married to my brother for 64 years he passed away last year ,there was no one to look after her so I stood up and said to her I have your back ,she looked at me and said I have you also , she and my mother was very good friends , and she got me my first red coat when I was in school, its hard but I am so glade to have some time to spend with her, I retired this year.