Ethnographic Interview Illness, or a sickness that affects the body or the mind, is something that can greatly alter a person’s life. The majority illnesses people experience lasts a relatively short amount if time, and in that short time they can impact the way someone lives. However, only a number of people have experienced a chronic, or lifelong, illness. The apparent and less obvious ways an illness can change an individual’s life are numerous, reaching far beyond fitness and bodily health into other aspects of life. The affects of a chronic illness are not limited simply to physical health but extend much further into negatively influencing social interactions, mental well-being, and financial security.
Missy Ritz is a 19-year-old female …show more content…
Culturally, Missy feels that her condition primarily affects her social life. Her main concern here is in regards to femininity; she feels that women in the United States are expected to feminine and clean. Her condition makes her feel “gross” and embarrassed due to frequent cases of diarrhea, bloody stool, and excessive trips to restrooms. Furthermore, she has to find a way to support herself financially while worrying about her family’s and her own medication costs, causing stress and a necessity for part-time employment. These lead to an inability to focus on and less time in the day for her school work and social …show more content…
$1,440 a year is a large amount of money to put aside for medication, and the price only skyrockets when medical tests are considered. Missy’s family, a single mother and two college-age working daughters, is certainly deserving of affordable medication and cheap health insurance and health care. Despite financial troubles, anything necessary for medical reasons is still absurdly expensive and may only get more expensive as their insurance company rethinks the payment plan and their hometown doctor nears retirement age. If doctor’s visits become a factor and the pricing of pills, treatments, and tests goes up, treating all three of the family members will likely become a challenging task, if not impossible. With no treatment and little monitoring comes the possibility of intestinal tearing, which is not only painful but costly. With so much hinging on only a few hundred dollars a month, it seems so feasible for the government to allocate financial aid or for insurance companies to provide greater discounts/coverage, but the way the health care system is currently designed hardly allow for leniency or cheaper pricing. Yet there is little relief to be found, and Missy and her family must struggle through their
Missy Ritz is a 19-year-old female …show more content…
Culturally, Missy feels that her condition primarily affects her social life. Her main concern here is in regards to femininity; she feels that women in the United States are expected to feminine and clean. Her condition makes her feel “gross” and embarrassed due to frequent cases of diarrhea, bloody stool, and excessive trips to restrooms. Furthermore, she has to find a way to support herself financially while worrying about her family’s and her own medication costs, causing stress and a necessity for part-time employment. These lead to an inability to focus on and less time in the day for her school work and social …show more content…
$1,440 a year is a large amount of money to put aside for medication, and the price only skyrockets when medical tests are considered. Missy’s family, a single mother and two college-age working daughters, is certainly deserving of affordable medication and cheap health insurance and health care. Despite financial troubles, anything necessary for medical reasons is still absurdly expensive and may only get more expensive as their insurance company rethinks the payment plan and their hometown doctor nears retirement age. If doctor’s visits become a factor and the pricing of pills, treatments, and tests goes up, treating all three of the family members will likely become a challenging task, if not impossible. With no treatment and little monitoring comes the possibility of intestinal tearing, which is not only painful but costly. With so much hinging on only a few hundred dollars a month, it seems so feasible for the government to allocate financial aid or for insurance companies to provide greater discounts/coverage, but the way the health care system is currently designed hardly allow for leniency or cheaper pricing. Yet there is little relief to be found, and Missy and her family must struggle through their