National Nurses United

9/11:2 3/17/08 2:15 PM Page 16 NATIONAL EM Almost seven years after 9/11, Ground Zero rescue workers still can't get the healthcare they need.What kind of system abandons care for those who took care of us? BY DONNA SMITH A sk reggie cervantes or any other of the 9/11 rescue workers featured in Michael Moore's documentary SiCKO whether their healthcare worries have eased since the film, and you'll get a painful answer: no. Now living in Oklahoma City, Cervantes says that she, like the others, still struggles to treat the afflictions born of her courage and compassion in rushing to Ground Zero in Manhattan more than six years ago. "It is difficult to tell at times if my physical illness will claim my life or the lack of treatment for my anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder will surrender me to suicide because I cannot afford the medications to cope," she said flatly just days after she returned from more medical evaluations in Denver. Their experiences are a reminder that, for all the talk and attention SiCKO and the presidential campaigns have helped generate over healthcare, patients every day—even those lauded as American heroes—are still suffering from lack of access to a single-payer, national healthcare system that guarantees every resident the same standard of quality care. Cervantes had high hopes before and after SiCKO was released. In the film, she was one of three 9/11 rescue workers profiled. Cervantes' lungs were badly damaged during the 9/11 rescue work she did at the World Trade Center, and she now suffers from severe respiratory disease. Since then, she has spent her time struggling to get adequate treatment for her ailments and fighting for the rights of other 9/11 rescue workers. She was able to get more evaluation and care in Cuba when filmmaker Moore took eight patients there as a part of the film. After filming, Cervantes and the other primary film subjects were able to travel to film premieres and openings and hopes were high that political change would be forthcoming and relatively swift. 16 REGISTERED NURSE The reality has been harsher and bleaker than Cervantes ever imagined. No knight in shining political armor surfaced and no generous benefactor appeared to forever fund the health needs of the heroes once so celebrated. For many of the 9/11 rescue workers physical ailments are only a part of the picture. W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G MARCH 2008

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