I want to know why!?!

Yes, big pharma and insurance companies, I’m talking to you.

I’m talking to every single one of you who live in your big, greedy glass houses, paid for by the blood money of every diabetic you hold hostage with your insulin prices and all who have died a painful, excruciating death at your hands.

I want one representative, just one, to tell me why the price of insulin has increased 1200% over the last 30 years (you read that right, two zeroes folks)! I want to know, would you be charging these prices if you had one family member who did not have insurance or coverage for insulin?  I want to know why money is more important than a human life.  I want to know how you would honestly answer all these questions if someone who is taking their last breath due to a lack of insulin was asking them.  I want to know how you would feel watching that person die, knowing that you are the reason.  I want to know why the same bottle of insulin in other countries costs the same as insulin in the United States used to cost in the 1980s. I want to know why every person living with type 1 or every parent of a type 1 child has to live in fear that they won’t be able to afford the only medication that will keep them or their child alive.  I want to know why we take extreme measure to rehabilitate drug addicts and have programs that will offer them free syringes but a type 1 diabetic who tries to take diligent care of themselves has to struggle to afford such access.  I want to know why the insurance companies get to put a cap on how much insulin a person is allowed per month, regardless of how much their bodies actually need.  I want to know why that discretion has been taken away from the doctors. I want to know if this was all worth it to you when you have to answer all these questions on judgment day. Those are the things I want to know.

Now, here’s what I want you to know.  I want you to know that we’re coming for you, and we’re fighting for every single person who died because of your greed. On your watch.  At your hands.  I want you to know that your blood money can’t go with you when you die, so enjoy it now.  I want you to know that every time a diabetic dies because of a lack of affordable insulin, that’s one more murder on your hands.  I want you to know that Shane Patrick Boyle and Alec Raeshawn Smith, along with countless others, are no longer here because of you.

Shane passed away on March 18, 2017.  He set up a gofundme page to raise $750 for a ONE MONTH supply of insulin.  He was $50 short of his goal and was unable to buy his insulin.  Without it, he went into DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis).  Insulin is what helps move glucose out of the bloodstream into the cells where it is most needed.  Without insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream and your cells begin to starve, causing the condition known as DKA.  Untreated DKA = death.

Alec aged out of his mother’s insurance at age 26.  Without insurance, Alec’s supplies cost $1,300 per month, which he could not afford.  He started rationing his insulin to make it last, which so many people are forced to do.  Alec was found dead in his apartment on June 27, 2017 after he went into DKA due to lack of insulin.

This must end.  I’ve said before that I choose to live in hope.  I live in hope that despite this greed, honest organizations like JDRF will prevail in finding a cure.  I live in hope that these money-hungry insurance and pharmaceutical companies will be brought to justice and there will be laws preventing this type of price gauging.  It is criminal, and innocent lives are being taken because of it.

If you are one of the individuals responsible for setting these prices, I hope you can sleep well at night.  I also hope you know sarcasm when you see it.  You should be ashamed of yourself.  You should be on your knees every night praying that you don’t end up with a disease that requires your company’s medications to stay alive.

One of the hardest things for me to do is pray for my enemies and those who are evil, but I do it.  Know that I do pray for you, that you are able to see what you are doing to people’s lives.  That you can see the fear that we have to endure because of you.

We may be a bunch of nameless, faceless people to you, but I promise, you will know us.  We are not going away.  You will know our names and hear our stories.  That is a promise.

To all who follow my blog, I know these are typically more upbeat and comedic.  I am not one to let this beat me, but this topic in particular is a hot one for me.  There is a big difference in not letting the every day struggles get me down and seeing my fellow type 1’s struggle just to stay alive.

I’ve gathered many stories so far of those who live in fear day to day.  Please share your stories with me.  My goal is to take all of these to congress to continue this fight.  Thank you, everyone, for your support!

Have a wonderful week, and enjoy the beautiful weather!