We got our snow here, 8 " of it on 1/30/10.  I loved every moment of it.   I'm calling it my Blacksburg snow and many seem amazed I've had so much fun in it.  Driving in snow is like riding a bike, one never forgets the technicque.  Low gear even on automatic transmissions does wonders.

Today a miracle of sorts is occurring in Hartford, CT.  The Association of Free Health Clinics is hosting a drive all day for patients too poor to seek regular care.  It is an environment for those too proud or too discouraged to pursue free health care.  MSNBC is teaming up with the effort, as Ed Shultz and Keith Olbermann will be broadcasting from there all day.  

Hartford, CT, you say?  Where so many insurance companies have headquartered inside their walls, blind to what lays outside them?  Yes, that's correct. 

I have written many times about the ins and outs of achieving my own health care.  It took years but it looks as if I am on the right track now.  It takes patience, completing numerous forms, and waiting for appointments with specialists at a teaching hospital.  Fortunately, I have the time to wait.  Many do not.  Their advanced stages of disease prevent them from time I can afford.  

Some days are better than others for me.  Some days I want to scream in pain.  But I have hope now and that keeps me going.  I'm going to appointments, getting specialty testing done, and being treated with dignity all along the way. 

 I have very low cost dental care because the clinic I use also has a dental program with it.  Its importance has already been proven by the two teeth I had to have pulled.  I could not afford the thousands for a root canal and cap.  Dentists used to run from pulling teeth.  Now they seem to understand the money is not available for caps, even among those with dental insurance.

To those in Hartford, CT today, I wish you the best.  Know that you are not alone.  Know there is hope and that your dignity need not be stripped to achieve the health care you desperately need.  You'll feel better knowing whatever health news you learn because at least you will know.

And Iwill feel better knowing you have access to the same level of care I began with, which turned into success.  Just because I have mine does not mean I will not fight for yours.