Somehow that got buried at the end of the story. I think it needs to be front and center. What we are doing now is not working.

Two examples: The goal of the men’s homeless shelter run by Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries in Cleveland is to turn lives around by getting people into their own living quarters and into employment. While in the shelter, there is health care through a county program. Once living independently and finding initial employment there is no health care available. One of the teen programs at LMM works to get new lives in order through supportive care and employment. Once 18 and working, likewise, no health care. Something is wrong with the process. Just as progress is being made, bam!

The Reporter article focuses on three issues – one being end of life issues for older adults. Let it be stated clearly: there are problems when medical decisions are made under duress. One piece on the LCMS web site illustrates an under duress disaster. But, and this is important, duress need not be. Living wills, durable powers of attorney for health care, advance directives, whatever you call them, are fine preventive measures for families and seniors to avoid problems during hospitalizations. A conversation with the parish pastor is also in order at such a time. There is an advance directives section on the LCMS web site! Judy and I have such documents in place. My parents have this also. This solves the first LW Reporter problem.

But there is another story to tell about health care. In September my wife’s younger sister fell asleep in Christ. This was her third hospitalization since June and we knew her health was deteriorating. Marilyn was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario on August 7^th where she received outstanding care until her death on September 11^th. Most of that time was spent in the Cardiac Care Unit--what appeared to be the equivalent of the step below a US hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.

Now, there was no durable power of attorney for health care in existence. It should be noted that for some years Judy was her court appointed guardian for financial matters. But Marilyn was deemed competent for health care decisions and she refused to give such to her sister. Nevertheless, the next of kin started getting telephone calls about procedures. We decided an “in person” visit was essential. When we arrived, the head of the Mac Master University Medical School Pulmonary Department was performing a procedure on Marilyn. We later learned that the Doctor was probably one of the leading lung specialists in the country. No second rate care for a terminally ill psychiatric patient. The CCU was staffed by a top notch team 24/7.

In one of the telephone conversations Judy asked the doctor whether her sister knew she was dying. The doctor stated he would talk with Marilyn about that right after the telephone call. We arranged to have an in person conversation with him to sort out next steps. That was a very caring conversation with him where he laid out all the details and it was agreed that moving to palliative care would be best. Again the department head from the teaching hospital was in charge. The hospital called the following Tuesday that we should come as soon as possible. We crossed the border around midnight and were at her bedside around 1:30 AM. On Friday evening Marilyn quietly fell asleep. Thanks be to God!

And thanks be to God for the Canadian Health Care System that is so maligned in our press. We experienced them to be caring, competent, compassionate and considerate of the needs of the family. Oh, ours is but one story. People do fall through the cracks and not everyone gets an MRI for a sprained finger. And the Ontario government sends some people to the Cleveland Clinic when backlogs are too long.

But most times we wonder if there is a difference worth considering. Canadians speak of a health care system, we usually talk about the health care industry. It is accessible, affordable because health care in Canada is recognized as a moral issue. For the record, forty years ago Canadians went through the same debates about health care we are having today.