Rutland Herald: Vermont needs to move forward with a health care system that provides all of the care we need and treats everyone equally.

When I was 8 months old, I came down with grand mal seizures. Because of this, my dad needed to get a job to pay for the medications I would be on for the rest of my life.

Over the years, things got worse, and my parents had to go to the Social Security office in 1983 because I was sicker then a dog at home and needed an operation to have my gall bladder out.

Since then, I’ve struggled with other health problems, from one thing to another. Now it’s dental which is giving me the most problems, but I also need to take more than 40 pills each day, which all cost money.

There just aren’t enough people helping other people. Our health care system doesn’t meet our needs, and it’s getting harder for us to get the help we need. It doesn’t cover things such as acupuncture, for those of us who can’t take narcotics medications. The whole situation is especially hard as a person with disabilities who’s a self-advocate.

That’s why I’m calling on the state to start putting people first. We need to make sure our health care system provides the care we need, when we need it, and is financed through progressive taxes so we’re not stuck with expensive co-pays for our medication.

PAULA MONGEON

Winooski