Hi all,

Warning - Medical and politics

I am a mid 30s male who has just survived infective endocarditis. A bacteria got into my heart and ate a valve. Before intervention my likelihood of survival was zero by a year. I was flown from a rural town to a major hospital, in the order of 20 scans and maybe 60 blood tests were done, and 1 heart valve was replaced with a mechanical one. I have been through pain at the upper 9 level (cannot make coherent words, sweating, shaking) and I have had some of the most intense experiences through this time. At one point at least 75% of the blood my heart was pumping was backflowing, meaning my heart had to do 3 or more times extra work to keep me alive.

You all, through taxation and policy, saved my life. Not an exaggeration or joke, I would be dead but for things that you as the Australian people have done. Being an Australian myself I am eligible for Medicare and have been in hospital for almost a month. I have not paid for my food, my bed, the room I am staying in, the 20 scans and 60 sets of blood tests, the titanium heart valve, the 11 staff in my surgical team who replaced my valve, the 20ish nurses who made sure I was given meds, fed, watered, lifted, turned, clothed. I paid nothing. I did nothing to manage this. It happened around me transparently and while there were hiccups and little things that could be improved I get to go home to my wife in the next couple of days. I get to spend more time with her, I see my cat again, and in a matter of weeks I will return to work. All of the stuff that was done to save my life cost money and political will and people here, other Australians, decided to do that.

I am immensely grateful to all of those people who worked on me. The nurses, the doctors, the specialist cardio thoracic surgeons, the infectious disease specialists, the pilot who flew me to the bigger hospital, the driver who drove the patient transport. But also the taxpayer, the person who works at a maccas and starts paying tax on a fairly low wage. The person who earns money being a lawyer and pays tax on it. The person who didn’t avoid paying their fair share. They paid for it, they kept me alive, and j get to hug my wife and pet my cat.

There are problems with Medicare, Centrelink, aged care, and all other government systems. These problems are a privilege to have because they are the failings of a system that mostly works. Some money got wasted, some money could have been saved, but I am alive and I can go earn money and pay tax now. I can support my wife rather than the government doing so. I can pay rent and eventually a mortgage and keep the economy moving. I have that opportunity, and it is because of choices made, values held, by this country. Maybe we can do more of that in the future and help other people, keep this amazing system running, keep other peoples hearts working. Thanks