Sergio Olaya and his mother, Clara, who died in 2007 of cancer.
Annette John-Hall: Tragedy decides the issue
No debate over health care for Sergio Olaya.
The ugly truth smacked me as I watched President Obama spell out his plan for health-care reform the other night.
The realization stung with all the nastiness of South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson's stunningly disrespectful "You lie!" blast at the president that hung over congressional chambers and left many gasping.
I'm guessing the majority of Americans would quickly point out that Wilson's juvenile vilification of the president doesn't speak for them.
Fair enough. But the truth is, there are still plenty of Americans who don't think universal health care should be a universal right.
What's it going to take?
Getting really sick and losing everything? Allowing the price of insurance to skyrocket out of reach? Losing your job and the health insurance that comes with it?
Maybe if people viewed health care as a moral obligation and not as part of some sinister socialist agenda by a president they consider foreign - even if his birth certificate says otherwise - we wouldn't be in this acrimonious holding pattern in the wealthiest nation in the world.
But folks refuse to make a connection - unless, of course, a personal catastrophe delivers a knockout punch.
Harsh reality
Not that 23-year-old Sergio Olaya would wish the tragic circumstances of his story on anybody.
But as harsh as it sounds, the University of Delaware senior says he believes that the only way the need for reform can really hit home is if you suffer a health crisis of your own.
Then see how far what you have will take you.
"There seems to be a general position in this country that people don't believe something is true until they get a dose of reality," said Olaya, one of 20 guests invited to the first lady's box to hear the president's speech Wednesday night.
Olaya's painful reality is having to cope every day with the loss of his mother.
Clara Ines Olaya, a Colombian-born U.S. citizen, once worked as a health-communication specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, getting health-related information out to a growing Latino community nationwide.
But while between jobs, Clara, a single mother, could not afford to pay for COBRA coverage while paying Sergio's out-of-state tuition to Delaware.
Disaster strikes
Then, as it has for millions of Americans, the health-care tightrope Clara Olaya so perilously walked collapsed when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2006.
Clara underwent two consecutive surgeries, which rendered her unable to work. Without coverage, her medical bills skyrocketed to $255,000, forcing Sergio to sell their family home in Bethesda, Md.
By the time she was finally approved for state-run health insurance, which, Sergio says, "was purchased at an extremely high price for a person with a preexisting condition," it was too late.
There was no need by then for all the services that would have been covered. "It paid for hospice," Sergio says, "and an in-home aide."
Clara Olaya died in 2007 at age 61.
Had President Obama's proposed system been in place, "My mom probably would have been able to have some form of health insurance that was affordable," her son says. "Her preexisting condition wouldn't have been held against her."
As devastating as it was to watch his mother's physical demise - and her anguish over mounting bills because of her illness - Sergio says "so many people in this country have it much worse than I have.
"I wish more people were willing to come and talk about it. I think that would be more effective for this whole debate."
The political-science major urges people to get as informed about the bill as they can. To not rely on misinformation and the interpretations of others.
"You need to take the time to read it," Olaya says. Because there may come a day when illness hits home.
"Whether you like it or not."
Contact columnist Annette John-Hall at 215-854-4986 or Ajohnhall@phillynews.com.
Read her work at http://go.philly.com/annette
