-
Protect Our Care :: From a Woman with Cystic Fibrosis
I was born with a life-shortening genetic disease called cystic fibrosis. When I was diagnosed in 1988, my parents were told I wouldnât live to turn 20. This year, Iâll turn 29. Iâm grateful for the medical miracles that have enabled me to have a long, full life, complete with marriage and parenthood. But those miracles have come at great cost. Each year, my prescriptions alone total at least $460,000. Adding in specialist visits and inpatient hospital stays, that number gets exponentially higher. Without the medications, specialist visits, and treatments that price tag buys, I will die in short order. Without one medication, my cells will lose the degree of…
-
Protect Our Care :: From a Mother of a Child With Cancer
As a mother of a child with cancer, I am deeply grateful for the options and protections the ACA affords my son and other children like him. I am also deeply concerned about possible replacements or changes to the ACA that could affect my son. While I realize the ACA has flaws that should be addressed, and I acknowledge that healthcare reform is a complicated and multifaceted issue, all I can do is speak from our familyâs experience. When abstract political ideas become law, these laws affect the lives of real people. This is the story of how the ACA has benefitted our family, and how possible changes to the…
-
Their Story is Our Story. Two more presentations in Logan and Provo
-
The Siegmund Refugees: A Transylvanian Immigration Story
Submitted by Lisa Catmull, edited by Mel Henderson Marianne Siegmundâs father was called up to serve in the Hungarian military just days after she was born in March 1944. Soon the Russian army was approaching, and in August, when Marianne, an only child, was just 5 months old, her mother took her and the rest of her family and fled their native Transylvania for Austria. They thought the relocation would be temporary, that they would later return to their comfortable home, but this was never to be. Marianne wrote, âOn this journey my mother was a true heroine in keeping me alive. She could not nurse me, but she had taken…
-
My Women’s March
by Courtney Lennberg âBail me out if I get arrested, please.â I jested as I grabbed my coat and keys. My husband laughed at my sarcasm, but there was a grain of sincerity cloaked in the satire. I had never been to a political rally of any kind, and this one, the Boise Women’s March, was certainly one way to go in with a bang. I picked up my neighborâa German expat who lived among a landscape and history that stood as a witness to the dangers of demagoguery and nationalism, and her friendâan American woman Iâd never met. While we waited on a barista to conjure up their coffee…
-
An Afghan Family Immigration Story
Submitted by an anonymous MWEG member, edited by Mel Henderson My husband was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, into a family that can trace its lineage directly to Muhammad. His family was politically active and vocal about itâunwelcome qualities in the social climate of the time. Two of his relatives became prominent political activists who were assassinated in the late 80s. But even earlier, things were very dangerous. The Russian army invaded Afghanistan in the 70s and they had a hit list. My husbandâs outspoken family became a target. The Russians intended to find, arrest, and execute every male in his family. This would send a message to others and âput…
