A Reality I Understand...

Today's Washington Post has an article about the health-care debate from the various perspectives of people living on a suburban street. It includes a family with an autistic son, who's story is very similar to everyone else who walks this path.

Time's Up

Just across the courtyard, at 114, Will and Sarah Armstrong and their three children are about to join the ranks of the uninsured. Will, who worked in church leadership, was laid off. In October, barring a last-minute job find, they will have no coverage.

"Our family is now going to be one of those who need public health care, which I never thought we would," Sarah said. "It's scary."

It's not like what they had was perfect, but it was something. After the birth of each child, Sarah found herself arguing, for months, with insurance companies over hundreds of dollars in doctor bills that they said she owed. After hours on hold to haggle with agents and filed and refiled forms, she was always proven right. she says.

When their oldest child, Zachary, had difficulty learning to speak and began to fall apart at the sound of a hair dryer or vacuum cleaner, they persevered through long waiting lists and paid out of pocket to take him to specialists, who diagnosed high-functioning autism. The boy needed speech and occupational therapy, psychiatric care, and a variety of medications, supplements and classes. The couple found themselves burning through their savings to pay for the care that their health plan would not cover.

Zach had such a bad experience in school that Sarah began home-schooling him. Now, going back to work is no longer an option for her. With their savings depleted, the couple, both 36, are considering selling their house and moving in with Will's parents in Virginia.

"What she's doing with Zach is really working for him," said Will. "We're committed to continuing it, even from a cardboard box."

Sarah finds herself watching the health-care debate with more intensity, more impatience now that it hits so close to home. She wants lawmakers to do something, whether or not it helps her family right away. Watching Obama address a joint session of Congress this month was not encouraging. "All the Democrats stood up and cheered at every line, while all the Republicans sat with their arms crossed," she said. "And all I could think of is, have we come to this?"