We aren’t even going to try to pretend we know the devastation of losing a child – especially when it comes suddenly, as it did for Michelle DuBarry.

The Portland-based writer’s son Seamus was struck by a “careless driver” while he was in a crosswalk. Two surgeries and a 27-hour hospital stay meant big hospital bills – and DuBarry knew it.

But if you ever wanted more proof that the American medical system is broken, imagine being forced to sit by your child’s bedside while you worry about how much his life-saving treatment is going to cost.

And then imagine it only getting worse from there.

DuBarry shared her horrifying story on Twitter.

Pardon us while we ignore people bickering in the background over whether 2010 (when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law) or 2014 (when more changes began to roll out) is the “correct” day. Internet trolls are truly marvelous at missing the point.

The point here is that a system exists in which life-saving treatment is so expensive that it can easily tear apart someone’s life.

DuBarry’s husband was also injured in the crash but was DENIED treatment. This seems atypical, but commenters chimed in with similar stories.

Many of us have been in situations when we couldn’t easily get the help we needed without significant extra research – health insurance can be complicated. But there’s no denying the DuBarry’s situation was epically unacceptable.

And then it simply spiraled into a situation we didn’t realize was even possible.

Regardless of your politics, you need only put yourself in this family’s shoes to understand something is very wrong here.

We can all have different opinions about the “right” way to pay for healthcare – but hopefully we can all agree that this is not a good system.

At first, it looked like the couple would owe $5k after their insurance.

But a pain and suffering settlement they received from the driver was able to be diverted to the insurance company to compensate for the company’s loss! (This is now illegal in the state of Oregon, thanks to DuBarry.)

No, businesses are not kind – and we all know that. But it’s amazing to think they we let a system emerge in which healthcare costs so much to begin with that a tragedy such as the one that befell Seamus could end up financially benefitting a hospital.

Anyone who has ever had a hospital bill adjusted knows that many of the charges we see on our bills are unnecessary or wildly inflated.

Don’t believe us? How about the woman who was charged $39.95 for holding her baby after birth?

While DuBarry does go on to make a political statement about healthcare for all and the candidacy of Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, one doesn’t have to believe in his plan specifically to know that we can do better than this.

Sure, health care costs money. Someone has to pay for it. You may believe that’s the government’s job, or the people’s. Or you may think that a lot could be solved by rethinking just how much we charge people to begin with.

There’s no reason you can’t have your own opinion about where the real problem lies to know that the DuBarry’s situation is unacceptable.

At the very least, her story will help you realize everything you take for granted.

Scroll down below for the whole Twitter thread – with a warning that it gets very political very quickly in the comments.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

In 2010, I had good union health insurance. Obamacare was the law of the land. In November that yr my 1yo son was struck by a careless driver in a crosswalk. After two surgeries and a night in intensive care, he died.

— Michelle DuBarry (@DuBarryPie) February 23, 2020

Source: Michelle DuBarry via Twitter; H/t: Bored Panda