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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009

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Scientist talks about adding a 'trick' to graph

Nov 21, 09 10:37 AM CST
College Threatens to Fail Students for Obesity

Twenty-five seniors must prove they've lost weight to graduate

Nov 21, 09 11:25 AM CST
Fla. Man to Smoke
115,000th Joint

Feat earns him world record for cannabis consumption

Nov 20, 09 10:32 AM CST
Hadron Collider
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After 14 months of repairs, proton beams circulate

Nov 20, 09 6:06 PM CST
Peru Gang Accused
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Cosmetics firms said to pay $60K/gallon; experts skeptical

Nov 19, 09 10:00 PM CST
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

McConnell:
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at 2010 Peril

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h1n1 outbreak

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PALEONTOLOGISTS SAY

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|NEXT STORY »

Husband Enlists to Get Wife Back Into Chemotherapy

Unemployed Wis. man couldn't afford ballooning health costs, signs on with Army

By W. McCahill| Posted Oct 19, 09 8:41 PM CDT|

(Newser) – Out of a job and unable to find work as the recession grinds on, a Wisconsin man desperate to find affordable chemotherapy for his cancer-stricken wife turned to Uncle Sam, but not for a handout—Bill Caudle, 39, enlisted in the Army. “Seventy percent of the reason is for the insurance,” his mother tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He told me, ‘I’ve always wanted to do something for my country and I have to help Michelle.”

Bill Caudle departed Oct. 6 for basic training, leaving Michelle, 40, and their three kids, aged 21-15, for a 4-year stint in the service. Michelle Caudle missed a week of chemotherapy for her ovarian cancer before Bill’s Army coverage kicked in, and is scheduled for her next session tomorrow.

Blood cleansed of toxic chemotherapy drugs is pumped back into the body of a California patient. (AP Photo)

Surgeons prepare a special catheter for a chemotherapy patient. (AP Photo)

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11.20.09

The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun

11.19.09

Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention

46 comments

VIEWING:

BoZo
Oct 19, 09 8:43 PM CDT

Can't blame the guy... I almost reenlisted before finding my current job. Reply

+11

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Oct 19, 09 8:45 PM CDT

Branch?

-4

IN RESPONSE:

Kookey90
Oct 20, 09 1:27 AM CDT

I also hope the dude got himself a good enlistment bonus. Going through basic training at 39 with young folks half your age will not be fun; I hope he makes it through. Good luck.

IN RESPONSE:

BoZo
Oct 21, 09 12:15 PM CDT

USMC. Yeah I felt sorry for those older guys when I was in bootcamp. I was 18 at the time and at least 1 of my fellow recruits was twice my age. The older guys seemed to handle the stress better though.

| 0 minutes ago

Jayster999
Oct 19, 09 8:45 PM CDT

Desperate times. Desperate measures. Reply

-2

| 0 minutes ago

kirei_gaisuto
Oct 19, 09 8:45 PM CDT

Couldn't have chemotherapy for a week cause they couldn't afford it. This is exactly why we need health care reform Reply

+25

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Oct 19, 09 8:58 PM CDT

Free guv'ment health care ain't free. You're just trying to stiff the rest of us with the check.

-14

IN RESPONSE:

Reader64481089
Oct 19, 09 9:29 PM CDT

So Jay what you are saying is a man who has worked all his fckin life is laid off due to the ecconomy and no fault of his own should allow his wife to perish with cancer so it doesn't cost you perhaps 3 cents when the cost is spread out among us all and I seriously doubt it to be that much. Tell you what Jay, if you became seriously ill and I was asked to pitch in to save you or perhaps your wife or chile I would not hesitate to help even if you have proven your a total a$$ and would rather see others die rather than help. I am unsure what part of you was left out when they created you but I am damn well glad that part was not left out of myself and other real Americans

+12

IN RESPONSE:

I_hate_to_say
Oct 19, 09 9:32 PM CDT

This would be viewed as an outrage in Canada-- and you will find very few there crying about being "stiffed" with the check.

IN RESPONSE:

lonewolf17
Oct 19, 09 10:08 PM CDT

I'm Canadian and you know what, I'm perfectly happy to pay higher taxes knowing that the money is going to help people like this man and his wife - especially since it gives me the added security of knowing if its ever ME in that situation, other will be there to help me too.

IN RESPONSE:

Pragmaticrealism
Oct 19, 09 10:14 PM CDT

Jay, I take it you weren't ever taught the concepts of sharing, empathy, or the common good. A pisspoor follower of Christ you are. Perhaps you consider yourself infallible, but you would be screwed too if you were terminally ill w/o insurance.

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Oct 19, 09 10:35 PM CDT

"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath?" Thomas Jefferson. (Works 8:404; P.P.N.S., p.141)

-4

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Oct 19, 09 10:36 PM CDT

Liberty is a gift from God. Statism (socialism) is the antithesis of liberty.

-6

IN RESPONSE:

Pragmaticrealism
Oct 19, 09 11:14 PM CDT

Jay, you have just admitted that you believe the world to be made up of two and only two sides: good and evil. If, for you, government intervention=always evil, no wonder you are so easily manipulated. There are many facets to the world, and to think that the government has no place in our lives is ignoring reality. I think you suffer from cognitive dissonance. This NWO you allude to uses religion to control, and you are a sheep because fyi the NWO = corprate interests, which MUST be curtailed via government policy if we are to live with free choice. The threat of monopolistic power is greater than the threat of government power in this period of history.

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Oct 20, 09 12:44 AM CDT

The state is what gives you freedom from the gangs that would be running society otherwise. Admit that, and you can begin to have an honest discussion about what freedoms and responsibilities you want the state to enforce.

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Oct 20, 09 1:54 AM CDT

Don't need the feds to keep gangs at bay. Sovereign states can do that. Actually, local sheriff's are usually up to the task.

-4

IN RESPONSE:

WallyEFunk
Oct 20, 09 3:09 AM CDT

Tomas Jefferson Quotes on God .like the bible he flips to say " "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." or "Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself. Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state,' therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society."

IN RESPONSE:

WallyEFunk
Oct 20, 09 3:15 AM CDT

I'm athist Candain, I feel it's my duty to care for my fellow man. Life is a right. To be paid for by all fellow brothers and sisters in the human race. Any one that lost a freind or family member, has to agree. Unless Ur un-christian. What would Jesus do?

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Oct 20, 09 7:34 AM CDT

Jay, I didn't mention the federal government. I said "the state". Care to restate your point?

| 0 minutes ago

alkaseltzersammich
Oct 19, 09 8:48 PM CDT

I guess this is the Republican health care plan. Reply

+11

IN RESPONSE:

kyleleitch
Oct 19, 09 9:07 PM CDT

It really is brilliant, isn't it? Deny coverage to people to make their friends rich, and all the while bolstering enlistment quotas which have been at an all time low for years now and accomplishing what the republicans have wanted for the last 8 years.

| 0 minutes ago

lumina
Oct 19, 09 8:48 PM CDT

God Bless America and their fantastic (or not) medical system. Actually it really is a good way to boost the armed forces. Sign up to go to Afghanistan, put your life on the line and we will pay for your family's insurance. Freaking terrific!!!!! Reply

| 0 minutes ago

SemperFI
Oct 19, 09 8:53 PM CDT

This makes my stomach turn. Every illegal in the World comes here. Gets all the benes this Country offers. And this guy gets the American shaft up the can Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Jayster999
Oct 19, 09 9:02 PM CDT

That's why our troops should be on the border, not in Afghanistan/Iraq/Iran--or whatever. We should have shut down the illegals 30 years ago. Of course, that isn't the plan, globalism and the NWO is.

-12

IN RESPONSE:

I_hate_to_say
Oct 19, 09 9:23 PM CDT

When offering such opinions you should provide links / citations. No, really ... I was only kidding. Spare us. Please !

| 0 minutes ago

cornelison
Oct 19, 09 9:24 PM CDT

Until last year I never knew about how Americans are being left to die without health insurance. Nothing this horrible happens in Canada. All decisions are made between us & our doctors. No insurance company throws us out on the streets like this! Where's the humanity? Reply

+10

IN RESPONSE:

I_hate_to_say
Oct 19, 09 9:34 PM CDT

Thanks, cornie.

-1

IN RESPONSE:

Doctor_Zaius
Oct 19, 09 9:37 PM CDT

There isn't any. Down here we have sanctimonious religious hypocrites tell us that God wants us to make insurance company execs rich and that pitching in our money collectively minus the profit motive would be Communism, Fascism, Malapropism, priapism and any one of a half hundred other isms as well as it would make the baby Jesus cry. .

| 0 minutes ago

Silverbow7
Oct 19, 09 9:52 PM CDT

You mean everyone in the service gets health care and no one, including the family, is turned down? Social medicine and no one begrudges it... And you who oppose socialized medicine say you are independent thinkers. Greedy, frightened, selfish, and brainwashed is more like it. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Rocket448
Oct 20, 09 1:21 PM CDT

Yes, Silver and while you're pouring on the vitriol, let me just add that I've had it with Jay and Semper and their "all for me, none for you" philosophy. To me that is the bane of our so-called capitalism; we're taught in school that our economic system allows us to enjoy the freedoms we cherish and I've learned its the other way around: the freedoms we have are what allow the corporatists to grab up as much as they can, then parcel it out as rewards for hard work, keeping the lion's share for themselves. Its disgusting, unnatural and shameful, that a national religion has grown up over property here in the US: who owns it, how they got it, and what they can do with it is all people like Jay and Semper care about. Ownership is everything to them, and they can't see that materialism has turned them into grasping selfish nits. I hate few things, but I cannot abide selfishness. Jay, Semper, go fly a kite why don't you.

| 0 minutes ago

t_seibert
Oct 19, 09 10:25 PM CDT

That a person would have to do that is completely disgusting. Enlisting in the Army is a noble and great thing. It rightly has many benefits as these people are potentially giving their lives. But if someone pays their taxes, wants to work and obeys the law, they should be entitled to any health care they need. I dream of the day a law abiding citizen of this country can walk into the hospital and receive all the chemotherapy, or anything else that they need. How do the board of directors and the powers that be behind hospitals sleep at night knowing that a woman with 3 kids needs chemotherapy and they don't do anything about it. Makes me sick. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Doctor_Zaius
Oct 20, 09 6:06 AM CDT

Not all the Health Insurance Execs have hearts of stone. Look up Wendell Potter. He was an insurance exec who went to West Virginia to observe a traveling free clinic administrating health care to the people who had no insurance. His job was to put the industry spin on it for Cigna. He was flying back on the corporate jet eating gourmet food off of gold plates when he decided what he was doing was wrong. He quit and became a corporate whistle blower. He has become a strong opponent of for profit health care. Google him and watch the interview he did with Bill Moyers.

| 0 minutes ago

divetrader
Oct 19, 09 11:05 PM CDT

That guy and people like him as well as the rest of us in this country are screwed by the Insurance co's. Chemo is a tough and sometimes deadly treatment. So this man has to go away for 4 years while his wife endures and hopefully survives the treatment. Plus they have the risk of him getting killed in combat. This must be the hell that right wing christians prey for. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

JayJay
Oct 20, 09 12:14 AM CDT

thank god i live in canada.... in my country, we would call tht a failure of our medical system if we had to go to such measures.... we may have a very puny army compared to americans, but we damm well kno how to take care of our own people. which infact today told our whole country that there will be enough shots of H1N1 vaccine to give to everyone and is in due time. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

JayJay
Oct 20, 09 12:15 AM CDT

sorry, our country's health minister promised the people tht there would be enough shots for all

| 0 minutes ago

So_Cal_Larry
Oct 20, 09 1:23 AM CDT

Socialized medicine for the active military and for veterans. Yes! Socialized Medicine. It's been there a long time. It works. Apparently it gets people to enlist to get it. Now, ain't that a hoot, all you Rethugs. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Middleman
Oct 20, 09 2:39 AM CDT

Let me just clarify something for all those that think military medicine is some kind of gift from above, it's not. Military socialized medicine blows ass. I've paid out of pocket for years to get good, immediate healthcare for my family. The military system tries, but it is not a good system. I'm not saying that military doctors are not good or competent. It goes more to a basic question: Do you want to manage your life and affairs or do you trust your government to manage your affairs? If you are okay with the government managing your life, then public healthcare is going to fit your life. If you don't want the government reaching in and managing you, then public healthcare is not a good option. Remember the same government who runs the security at the airport is going to now be running your healthcare... how efficient and effective are they exactly? What you gain in healthcare coverage, you will lose in anonymity and ability to manage yourself. Nothing is free.

-7

IN RESPONSE:

Doctor_Zaius
Oct 20, 09 6:08 AM CDT

Funny, I have many retired military in my family and they love the VA. I guess it depends on where you live.

IN RESPONSE:

Doctor_Zaius
Oct 20, 09 2:29 PM CDT

Or your hidden agenda

| 0 minutes ago

rosy_s
Oct 20, 09 1:55 AM CDT

he's so sweet!! Reply

| 0 minutes ago

aces08
Oct 20, 09 2:00 AM CDT

It's sad that this poor man has to fight a rich mans war just so the person he loves can have a chance at surviving, Reply

IN RESPONSE:

So_Cal_Larry
Oct 20, 09 2:39 PM CDT

It was true in Viet Nam. Check all the Bushies who are experts on war who got multiple deferrments so to not go to Viet Nam via the draft. Viet Nam was a poor mans and black mans. They suffered the brunt of it. History repeats itself.

| 0 minutes ago

msutah
Oct 20, 09 10:15 AM CDT

Can you imagine the healthcare system we could fund if we spent just 1/10th of what we spend fighting two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Rocket448
Oct 20, 09 1:25 PM CDT

Again, you point to the failure of americanism: we have to do what the corporatists tell us to do if we don't want them to turn off the flow of goodies.

| 0 minutes ago

BleeBloo
Oct 20, 09 10:26 AM CDT

It's a tragedy it was necessary, but this man is a real hero. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

ultramarine13
Oct 20, 09 3:53 PM CDT

I am glad to see so many genuinely thoughtful, intelligent people coming out to comment on this. I too find this a national disgrace that a man is forced to join the military at 39 in order to get the medical treatment his wife needs to survive. And I would also ask, where are the Christians now? After all, didn't Jesus say "As you do unto the least of your brothers you do unto me" (or something to that effect)? At this point, I suggest that any progressives out there start flooding the inboxes of any religious right politicians with a demand that they begin following the teachings of the man they profess to follow. And Rocket, I agree with you completely, jayster, godawgs, mrsk, etc., are doing nothing but spreading ignorance and bigotry on this site. If the whole world spent their energy on advancing society rather than dragging it down, imagine where we'd be? We might have cures for cancer, AIDS, and innumerable other currently incurable diseases, we could have planet-wide universal health care, no poverty, and a fully sustainable society. As nice and progressive as I am, they make me start to think that maybe retroactive birth control is actually a good idea... Sad. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

View all 46 comments »

health insurance • chemotherapy • ovarian cancer • US Army • enlist • Bill Caudle • Michelle Caudle • basic training

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Husband Enlists to Get Wife Back Into Chemotherapy

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