Back in 2014, my once Chinese girlfriend suffered from Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), was first diagnosed when she was 12, then prescribed by a Chinese hospital a mixture of drugs to take every day without interruption - which appeared to have rendered the disease asleep. Fast forward to her 24th birthday and the disease re-surfaced dramatically. We promptly went to the University of Tours' hospital and had the opportunity to meet with some of the finest rare disease professors.. only to be told that her continued use of the drugs she was prescribed back then actually had to be reduced/stopped progressively as the disease was being controlled.. Instead, the continuous prescriptions significantly damaged her kidneys, and made her sick thyroid dependent and accustomed to the drugs, allowing the disease to come back in full force, in a much more aggressive fashion than before and that it would be now hard to combat. By her 25th birthday, and while we had been able to share unique times of happiness that year during remission phases - flares would make sitting up on her bed and buttoning her shirt nearly impossible due to the constant joint pains / stiffness, fatigue, etc - and her immune system would often turn against her own organs.. eventually pivoting to her brain, causing severe confusion and depression. Shortly thereafter, she took her own life to put an end her own sufferings.
It deeply pains me to witness the US & Chinese health care systems, such tremendous powers with staggering economies, being nowhere near the quality of the free healthcare provided by France - to French citizens and temporary residents alike.
Back in 2014, my once Chinese girlfriend suffered from Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), was first diagnosed when she was 12, then prescribed by a Chinese hospital a mixture of drugs to take every day without interruption - which appeared to have rendered the disease asleep. Fast forward to her 24th birthday and the disease re-surfaced dramatically. We promptly went to the University of Tours' hospital and had the opportunity to meet with some of the finest rare disease professors.. only to be told that her continued use of the drugs she was prescribed back then actually had to be reduced/stopped progressively as the disease was being controlled.. Instead, the continuous prescriptions significantly damaged her kidneys, and made her sick thyroid dependent and accustomed to the drugs, allowing the disease to come back in full force, in a much more aggressive fashion than before and that it would be now hard to combat. By her 25th birthday, and while we had been able to share unique times of happiness that year during remission phases - flares would make sitting up on her bed and buttoning her shirt nearly impossible due to the constant joint pains / stiffness, fatigue, etc - and her immune system would often turn against her own organs.. eventually pivoting to her brain, causing severe confusion and depression. Shortly thereafter, she took her own life to put an end her own sufferings.
It deeply pains me to witness the US & Chinese health care systems, such tremendous powers with staggering economies, being nowhere near the quality of the free healthcare provided by France - to French citizens and temporary residents alike.