Send your story into the wind. Let it travel like a seed.

My soul hurts these days. Ironically,not because the Universe has fired it up, but because so many feel so comfortable attempting to put it out. I am old enough to remember a time when a women could be fired from a job for pregnancy. That happened to me in 1992 when I was pregnant with my second daughter. I developed complications early on. My time off visiting the doctor was considered an inconvenience to my employer. Like many pregnant women before me, I was terminated from that job for simply being pregnant. Back in 1992 there was no FMLA  (Family Medical Leave Act)  So in a blink of an eye I lost my job, health insurance,and a big part of my faith. Thankfully, my husband had a job that agreed to pick up our health insurance. You see back then it was a choice. His job could have refused to insure us. We could have been left destitute in the middle of a pregnancy that went medically wrong.

For the record, we both had graduated from college,had worked both full-time and a part-time jobs each,as we saved for a house. Then in our mid 20's,life was just sailing along. We had a four years old and now had expanded our family with baby number two. We worked hard followed the rules, and then out of a blue came a medical crises that could have destroyed our lives. Without that insurance I am not sure if my beautiful daughter Alayna or I would be here today. As potentially fatal blood clots went into my kidneys; I spent that pregnancy in and out of the hospital with the complications from a blood clotting disorder that would not be discovered until decades later.

With three healthy children, some wonder why I care about those women who come after me. How could I not care? I know how easy it is to go from doing just fine to crises mode. I know that we need laws in place to protect families from greed. I know that greed is sometimes the biggest motivating factor for those who control the marketplace. Humanity and compassion sometimes simply have to be legislated. Having previously worked in healthcare and possessing a lifelong addiction to research; I know that when left to the mercy of whim, sometimes women and children die. As states such as Texas remove access to prenatal care for women they have seen a surge in the mortality rate of pregnant women. Their suggestion that women pray, is an insult to the real miracles that have taken place to save lives. Prayer does not control; insulin, heart disease, kidney disease, blood clotting disorder. Perhaps prayer did give us individuals who developed medications that can and do save lives.

So I symbolically march. I call, I write, I encourage others to call and write, because I bear witness to what access to medical care can make every time I look at my now 24 year old 5'11 daughter. My story from yesterday, must not be repeated by another woman tomorrow. What about you? Will you help me create a better tomorrow?  Please start by not being uncomfortable with my truth, but by embracing my desire to not make it someone else's reality.