An American Tragedy: A Serious Diagnosis And No Health Insurance

Susan Murphy-Milano, an author and fellow Forbes contributor, has made it her career to advocate for the rights of women and children. She even lobbied for the passage of 1993′s Illinois Stalking Law. Her quest for justice has been a 20-year pursuit.

Now, she’s in the fight of her life against cancer and faces one of the biggest travesties of all: no health insurance.

Susan’s life took another drastic turn in 1989 when her father, a 30-year veteran and decorated Chicago police detective, murdered her mother, Roberta, with his department-issued service revolver — a .44 magnum — then took his own life. Susan vowed to, for the rest of her life, speak for the victims of domestic violence — what she has termed ”intimate partner violence” – to give them a voice and the tools to survive.

Cathy ScottContributor

Susan, diagnosed in early June with stage IV cancer, isn’t unlike many Americans who find themselves in similar circumstances without adequate medical coverage. Besides being pricey, the variations of coverage often don’t pay the cost of treatment. According to a 2010 survey by the Center for Disease Control, 46 million Americans are without health insurance. One person, by my way of thinking, is too many.

To read the rest of the story on Forbes  click Here

Crime, She Writes

BREAKING DOWN THE HEADLINE

Is It Good For You?

This is a post I've taken from one of the writers of "Time's Up!" Tanya Warrington. It comes from her blog, "Dazzling Wings." Her words always move me.

Is it good for you? A short question with huge ramifications.

As former victims, we are more likely to base decisions on unconscious questions such as "Will the other person be mad if I say I don't want to do this?" or "I can survive a little more; what difference will it really make?" or "Will my doing this help this other person out?"

I am learning that this other-focused way of making decisions is insidious and well ingrained. It may have helped me in the past. Perhaps caring more about the other's reaction or needs, rather than evaluating my own condition and needs at least gave me some illusion of power in situations of powerlessness.

But now that I am free from abuse and establishing a more healthy lifestyle, I need to know how decisions will affect me. I need to know if a food choice, medicine choice, or relationship choice is good for me. It turns out that I have a starring role in being responsible for my own health choices. Will I spend time with someone who drains me? Will I do something I do not want to do, because somebody important to me thinks that I should? Will I eat a food that has no nutrient value? Will I alternate sitting and standing throughout the day to respect my physical limitations?

How about you? Do you need to think about whether choices are good for you? The good news is we make many decisions daily so there is plenty of turf on which to practice. Start asking yourself, "Is this good for me?"

If we don't know whether or not something is good for us, we can ask the God who has promised to give wisdom to all who ask.

God, bless our minds with your wisdom, our hearts with receptiveness to the truth, and our wills ready to act in line with Your will. Amen.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5 (NIV)

Plan "B"

Suzan Annette Sowders-Fuller stood on her ranch in Bakersfield, California, crossed her arms and shook her head in disbelief, on Monday August, 3, 2009 when her estranged husband bonded (for the second time) out of jail paying a measly $750 to be back out on the street only to continue terrorizing his wife and kids. As of Monday last week there were 8 police reports for breaking a court order of protection; slicing tires, breaking and entering; verbal threats of death over the phone; taking a container of diesel fuel and dousing the house. The kicker, on Wednesday August 5, 2009, Robert Fuller was visiting as scheduled by the courts with the couple's 2 daughter's ages 8 and 5.

Robert Dale Fuller was allowed to continue supervised visitation with his children. Why wasn't he behind bars? Where was the district attorney? Why wasn't he charged with several felonies?

Could it be that no one took Suzan's cries for help seriously because she was going through a divorce? We will never know.

On Saturday August 8, 2009 at 2:25 a.m. a frantic call was placed to the police by the 8 year-old child, "please she screamed, help us, help us, my mommy, my grandma have been shot, hurry, hurry someone please hurry."

In front of both children Robert Fuller shot to death Suzan and her mother Sharon Cannon.

A spokesperson from the Sheriff's Department told the local news reporter they responded to a "domestic dispute." What no one knew at the time and I learned this morning, was the system refused to do its' job on many levels in this case.

At the conclusion of the article it reads "Sheriff urged anyone experiencing domestic violence or abuse to seek professional help."

The system appears to serve as nothore more then a light post for your street address as they approach the crime scene, respondong only after someone has been murdered by their violent husband or boyfriend. It is obvious for anyone experiencing violence in a relationship, or going through a nasty divorce, plan "B" is a survival requirement or they may not survive to see a new sunrise.

Part 2 of this post is tomorrow.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the Susan Murphy Milano show on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at 3:00PM central time as we talk about this case with a family member and Claudia Dombrokski from Mothers Without Custody, including what women must arm themselves with to survive the abuse. The question of the day is: Are you interested in planning for a funeral or a new life?