A Story for the Voiceless

Jen was seven months pregnant when she began showing signs of illness. Sean, her husband, rushed her to the ER where after four hours she was diagnosed with a cold, perhaps some bronchitis, and sent home with a prescription the couple could not afford. Sean and Jen were uninsured and soon found that this status meant they would have to fight at every step for the care Jen needed.

Within 36 hours, Jen was exhibiting signs of serious illness. Sean took her to a new hospital and lied about having insurance in the hopes that they would receive better attention. This time, Jen was diagnosed with severe double pneumonia, sepsis and respiratory failure. She was in critical condition from that moment on. For the next 55 days, the family watched and waited as Jen and her unborn baby struggled. While they fought for life, the family fought for care; “Without insurance, we had to fight for everything. It’s exhausting to do that.” After 55 days, Jen and her daughter died, leaving behind her husband Sean, and two-year-old daughter, Kylee. The family feels that had they been insured, Jen would have received the treatment she needed from the beginning and perhaps today, she and her daughter would be alive.

“There is nothing I can do for Jennifer, but to use her story to give voice to the voiceless,” says Midge, Sean’s mother. “People have been quiet too long. People need to stand up… it’s unacceptable in the richest country in the world that we do not take care of our own.” For the Houghs, this story is not over. They are fighting daily for a strong public option so that other families do not have to experience the tragedy they have.