Lifting the Burden so People Can Live

By Anonymous / Spring 2022

It was a Thursday afternoon, November 7th, 2019 to be exact, a day that I will never forget. After a long day at community college, filled with rigorous coursework and long lectures, I had come home to enjoy the pleasant feeling of relaxation. I followed my normal routine of taking a nap as soon I got home, followed by doing homework. I had been feeling odd for a few weeks, dealing with frequent urination and extreme fatigue but this day seemed worse than others. I told my mother how I was feeling, and she urged me to go to the emergency room. Not wanting to go, I kept trying to convince her that I was fine but little did I know I wasn’t. I was admitted to the emergency room. Soon after my arrival, I had blood work taken. I vividly remember laying on the hospital bed awaiting my results. Ten minutes elapsed, and after what felt like an eternity, the doctor walked up with a saddened facial expression. He muttered, “sorry to be the one to tell you this news, but you have type 1 diabetes.''

A wave of emotions flooded through me upon hearing this news. From one second to the next, I knew my life would never be the same. In that instant, flashbacks of my past “normal” life overwhelmed me. I kept thinking about all the things I couldn’t eat, activities I couldn’t do, and the future struggles I would face. I hoped and prayed, with tears filling my eyes, that I would wake up from this terrible dream; however, I knew this was my new reality, and one that I had to learn to accept. I had to acknowledge that I would have to adapt to becoming medication-dependent.

The first six months after my initial diagnosis, I experienced an emotional roller coaster. It was definitely among the most difficult parts of my life. These months had a tremendous negative impact on my mental health, along with a significant impact on my schooling.

Every day felt endless, assignments began piling up, test scores plummeted, and my grades slipped. School management became extremely difficult to handle because I struggled to micromanage my blood sugar (BG).  It was difficult to give my undivided attention to the lessons, because of symptoms I experienced mid-class, but I knew I had to find it in me to push myself as the school semester was coming to an end. As this so-called academic journey became irrelevant, I had to put my life on pause and took a deep breath. I had to take time to reflect and proceed to learn to navigate my new life, by prioritizing my health, both physically and mentally. My newly diagnosed medical condition required me to check my blood sugar (BG) three to five times a day with a glucose meter to ensure I was within a regular BG of 70-130. A low BG, 70 or lower, occurs when the amount of insulin injected exceeds the carbohydrates consumed. If I was not careful, I could be one step closer to Hypoglycemia which results in symptoms such as confusion, heart palpitations, shakiness, and anxiety. In contrast, a high BG (140 or higher) can occur when the amount of insulin is insufficient for the number of carbohydrates consumed. This can lead to Hyperglycemia, which results in symptoms such as frequent urination, extreme fatigue, and thirst. It became extremely difficult to simultaneously manage my schoolwork and diabetes.

Aiming to achieve a college education was a goal I’ve always had for myself, due to the rigorous journey my parents endured. My sense of motivation derives from the origin story of my parents. Being a first-generation college student coming from a Mexican background, I wanted to do everything in my power to make my parents proud. At this stage of my life, it is obtaining my Bachelor’s degree in International Business. Growing up in Mexico, my parents weren’t given the opportunity to pursue a complete education.

My mother graduated from sixth grade but could not continue due to a lack of funds. On the other hand, my father was never given the opportunity to attend school because my grandparents valued labor more than education. For this reason, he grew up being a helping hand on the farm. My parents came from a very similar background, like that in “30 Days: Immigration”. In the “barrio”, which also translated to “neighborhood”, there existed very limited educational opportunities and resources needed to function on a day-to-day basis. With limited resources, one had to make a decision on whether they wanted to raise their children there or move to another country, such as the United States, with greater opportunities. After their ceremony in 1981, a conclusion was made that they would move to the United States because they saw no bright future for them in Mexico. The so-called “American Dream” was the driving factor that gave them the aspiration to give their family a better and brighter future. Soon after immigrating, they endured very labor-intensive jobs. My father being a gardener and my mother a housekeeper. Having them work hard with the hope to give my siblings and me a better life than their own.

As stated, my parents worked very labor-intensive jobs when I was growing up. Due to their rigorous work schedule, they were absent for a big chunk of my childhood. It wasn’t until I was older that I was able to comprehend the logic behind their absences. I quickly grasped that they sacrificed time spent together with the family to ensure that they could provide us with the income necessary to accommodate what we needed. As a result of being alone most of the time, I had to learn to overcome my language barrier and become a self-sufficient child at a young age. Early in my youth, I had to learn to tackle obstacles on my own. I had to be the translator whenever my parents needed me, whether that be for a simple conversation with another person or a doctor’s appointment.

I vividly remember sitting down, attempting to compose the words I’d relay to my parents after having a long conversation with the doctor. I would comprehend most of the words, but of course, due to my limited vocabulary and translation skills, I struggled to convey the entire message. A large portion of my youth consisted of this. In regard to handling my father’s gardening business, I had to take over the bookkeeping. In addition, I had to make conversation with clientele, who called in to report underlying issues that needed to be fixed. Throughout my middle school days, I steadily became more involved. I was providing my services in setting up appointments needed to give job estimates and handling invoices for all his clientele. I also had to be organized and on top of the monthly invoice deliveries.

All these tasks and paperwork, designed for an adult, were placed upon me. Due to my parents language barrier and lack of education, I had to handle all of this work for them. Back in the day, I dreaded doing this work because someone of my age should have been enjoying life, rather than worrying about adult tasks. Nevertheless, looking back at it, I am very appreciative of everything I learned, because it has taught me to be a self-sufficient and disciplined adult. Because I took this route, I noticed a significant advantage over that of my peers. As a result of their sacrifices, these skills allowed me to overcome life’s obstacles more easily. I am now given the opportunity to obtain a college education, as they never did. Obtaining a degree not only fulfills my dreams, but also my parents’. My parents motivate me to become the best version of myself because I have seen the sacrifices they have made first-hand. They provide me with continuous support, whether it be educational or personal, as they did for my four older siblings. When my siblings pursued their degrees, my parents never left their side. They encouraged them and guided them as best as they could when it came to college tuition because they were unable to provide them with monetary support.

Due to the struggle that my parents endured, they were never able to surpass the low-to-moderate income bracket. Growing up in this class made me adapt and improvise for luxuries that other individuals easily acquired. We live in a society that does not want someone of a lower income bracket to thrive. We, among the low-to-moderate income bracket, lack support. I remember my parents would struggle to pay off bills and acquire need-based benefits to alleviate their “drowning debt”. The neoliberalism approach, that is evident throughout the US, does not provide much monetary surplus for those who work unwanted jobs, but rather reward those that “benefit” the corporate world. It didn’t matter how hard someone worked because they would be paid the same. My parents worked tirelessly, yet were not compensated merely enough for it. Now that I live with type 1 diabetes, I experience the struggles of the low-to-moderate income bracket benefits, and it is nearly impossible to live life. During the period of the pandemic, a lot of people endured the struggle of not obtaining monetary re-compensation. Those that still remained working (essential workers) did so without receiving any pay increase. They endured the risk of becoming ill and harming those around them. Due to various opportunities for income such as EDD, people who became unemployment insurance dependent were sometimes gaining more income than those who worked throughout the duration of the pandemic. This exemplifies the need for restructuring.

Being a type 1 diabetic, I endure a lot of expenses. I currently carry a device with me twenty-four hours a day called an insulin pump. This insulin pump’s whole purpose is to deliver insulin and monitor my BG throughout the day, having it alert me when my BG is high, low, or maintained. With this pump, a lot of expenses arise. Products range from infusion sets, reservoirs, transmitters, sensors, test strips, and the most important one, insulin. These collectively come out to a cost of an average of $1,405 on a monthly basis, without insurance, and $16,860 on a yearly basis. Based on Financebizz, the median income of a Hispanic family is $36,050, leaving 53% ($19,106) of their income to be allocated to other areas besides medicine (Financebizz). It is staggering that in the US, we’ve had a 53% increase in insulin from 2014 to 2019 (GoodRx). Even with this ridiculous rise, I still believe that this will continuously increase.

As one who is categorized in this area of low income and in need of medical assistance, the government and pharmaceutical companies make it nearly impossible to escape and succeed. This is a societal issue that I face, but I certainly don't believe I am alone. There lies a gray area, where free health insurance is cut off for exceeding the given criteria. Medi-Cal is government managed, providing insurance benefits to those within the state of California. However, within this insurance, lies an issue. If your monthly income exceeds that of $3,435, you are cut off. Putting that number into a bi-weekly salary is $1,717 (Kevin Knauss). This is a ridiculously low cut-off. If one works, but can’t manage to afford legitimate insurance coverage, they are stuck with the burden of paying incredibly high costs for life-saving medication. Medicare for all should be a set standard throughout the United States. If this were to be allowed a cut-off, I believe it should be one that is more reasonable, such as anyone making over $60k, rather than the current $40k a year. There are people who live in expensive areas that struggle to pay for rent and other living commodities needed to survive. Having such a low income cut off can impact those in these areas tremendously. Obtaining medical insurance should not be seen as a luxury, but rather a need. Many people within the medicine dependent community often get frustrated at the fact that the pharmaceutical companies enjoy price skimming their products, because there are no other competitors offering a lower price for these necessities. Various social media users express their outrage at the insulin prices from other countries, such as $6.94 in Australia, $12.00 in Canada, and $7.52 in the UK, in comparison to that of the US (Pharmanews Intelligence). Why can’t we restructure? Why can’t the United States be reasonable? Why can’t the world's richest country provide reasonable health care for all? Perhaps this Neoliberalism ideology motivates this power dynamic.

Is this the dream? I have lived my entire life looking to become an adult, but now that I’m living my adult life, I just want to go back. Frustration arises with having enough to pay bills, stress arises in seeking success in this neoliberal country, and a sense of hopelessness occurs because nobody seeks to restructure. Neoliberalism, I feel, is at the center of these pharmaceutical companies having no regulations. Having no government regulation with price control is theoretically allowing pharmaceutical companies to regulate their own price margins. In the overall scope of things, they produce low cost products, which in turn, are sold for a higher price, resulting in a bigger marginal profit.

In conclusion, we as a society should work together to make a change that will include the regulation of the pharmaceutical industry. In turn, this will allow the members of the low-to-moderate income bracket to have affordable medical necessities. This will allow struggling families an opportunity to focus on other aspects of their lives besides that of medicine. They can live more fully rather than cutting corners to afford medical prescriptions needed for survival.

Works Cited  

Knauss, Kevin. “Big Increase for the 2022 Medi-Cal Income Amounts.” IMK, 17 Feb. 2022.

Murray, Kerry. “U.S. Net Worth Statistics: The State of Wealth in 2022.” FinanceBuzz, FinanceBuzz, 21 Dec. 2021.

PharmaNewsIntelligence. “Insulin Prices 8x Higher in the US Compared to Similar Nations.” PharmaNewsIntelligence, 9 Oct. 2020,

30 Days: Immigration, Vimeo