I Will Cry No Tears For Senator McCain

Rita Harris
Jul 21, 2017 · 4 min read

Last night the news of Senator McCain’s Glioblastoma started to trickle into my news feed. My immediate reaction was the human one. “Oh, no”, I thought and putzed around online for a few minutes. However, once I really started to see the reactions to this news I became angry.

I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but since Trump was elected president, I have been living on 10/10 on my anxiety evaluation litmus test. I have health-related OCD. I will fixate on an illness I believe I have. It doesn’t help that two years ago I lost an aunt and an uncle to cancer (they were siblings). At that point I never thought I had an increased cancer risk but a routine trip to my gynecologist really hit me in the face with reality. My doctor suggested I get tested for a cancer syndrome called Lynch Syndrome. I am currently awaiting testing and if it comes back positive I have an 80% increased chance of developing colon cancer, 50% increased chance of developing uterine cancer, as well as increased risk for stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer and skin cancer.

This news is unsettling enough as it is, but for someone with OCD related health anxiety it’s been pretty difficult navigating the news every night. It seems that every time I turn on a station they are discussing the Republican’s plans to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare. If this comes to fruition I don’t know what I would do because I have a pre-existing condition. The health insurance companies have made it difficult enough because the fine for the not having insurance isn’t high enough and there are many people that are opting out. This means my premiums and deductibles are high but AT LEAST I HAVE INSURANCE.

I cannot reiterate this enough. I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT I AT LEAST HAVE INSURANCE. I can afford the premium and while the deductible is higher than it would be without a pre-existing condition, at least it’s manageable and it’s coverage.

So imagine the frustration and anger I have as I hear about John McCain getting much needed medical services that he, himself, is willing to deny other Americans. My knee jerk reaction was to feel empathy because that is who I am but as I had time to ponder it, I realized that I don’t feel sorry for him. I feel angry. Angry that he is able to get care that could possibly save his life but the average American would either never get treatment because they didn’t have the coverage, have treatment stopped because they reached a cap, or go bankrupt trying to pay for treatment. It’s just not fair.

The irony of this is that someone with the same exact brain cancer once contacted Senator McCain regarding his vote for the new health care bill and allegedly he told that person to move. I mean, why am I supposed to hold space for this person that was actively working to lower my lifespan.

A Facebook friend posted a status last night about John McCain that essentially said, “fuck John McCain” and the pushback to it was quite strong. There were people that felt it was toxic thing to say but she later made a good point, she said that people rejoiced when Osama bin Laden was killed and yes, what he did was a heinous act against the American people, but the same could be said about attempting to kick tens of millions of people off of their healthcare.

My life is being debated every single day in America. My quality of life. My quantity of life. All of it is being debated. It literally sits in the hands of people that make it clear on regular basis that they don’t care about me. They care about wrapping a tax break for the rich up in healthcare wrapping and gift it to us.

So, no. Don’t guilt me into feeling bad for Senator McCain. I don’t. I don’t feel bad for him. You can call me what you want and you can whatever but who I feel bad for are the millions of people that are taken on an emotional roller coast ride every single day as they wait to find out if this will be the last year they will have decent health coverage. My heart goes out the people that will get cancer and don’t have the money or the prestige to get the best treatment at the Mayo Clinic. My heart goes out the families that have to watch their loved ones die of a disease that could be treated or could have been prevented. I hold space for the people that are scared and anxious and want some sense of certainty.

Liberals, empathy is in short supply. I beg of you to save it for the people that truly need it. I assure you, McCain is going to be alright. He is getting the best care that money can buy. If he should pass, you can be assured it won’t be due to lack of medical care. Wish the same could be said of the millions of people who would lose their healthcare if the ACA should be repealed.

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Rita Harris

Written by

Cat Lady Extraordinaire, middle-aged and loving it. Also a part-time asshole.

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