Josh Wilkerson was alone, in the sleeping quarters above the northern Virginia dog kennel where he worked, when he suffered a series of strokes that would prove fatal.
“It’s very hard,” said his fiancee, Rose Walters, 27, who, like Mr Wilkerson, was born with a congenital form of the disease known as type 1 diabetes. “How many more young type 1 diabetes patients have to die before something finally changes?” A few days earlier, Bernie Sanders, independent senator for Vermont, joined a group of people with type 1 diabetes on a bus from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, where they found insulin sold for a tiny fraction of what it costs in the US.
But with analogue insulin prices nearly tripling since 2002, doctors have begun recommending the cheaper version as a stopgap – a strategy endorsed for “some patients” by the American Diabetes Association in a white paper published last year. “There is a lot of room for error,” she said. “You need to have one-on-one communication with a health provider who is going to be able to guide you through some of this, which isn’t always available to someone who is on a lower income.”
“The high cost of insulin is a concern for those trying to manage their diabetes, and human insulin can be a less expensive alternative, but it may not be right for everyone,” Ms McInnis said in a statement. Mr Wilkerson’s mother, Erin Weaver – whose father died of complications related to type 1 diabetes in 1989 – said her son assured her the medication was working.
Ms Walters frequently checked in via FaceTime. During his second night away, Mr Wilkerson told her his stomach had been bothering him, promised to take the insulin and signed off.She called his phone, but he did not answer. So she rushed to the kennel. There he was, on the floor, unconscious after what doctors later determined were multiple strokes.
Why didn't he sign up for the wonderful O care
We have evolved into a country literally run by Big Money and Big Corporations . Poor folks and seniors have little hope anymore. They have both parties because of the elections laws George Bush got passed with republican control in Congress .
There's a scary implication in this heading and article that this man died because of taking cheaper insulin. He died bc he didn't take/couldn't afford ENOUGH of it. ReliOn doesn't work as fast as other short acting insulin, but it does work. Plz keep taking your insulin yall
I bet it’s trumps fault
This is not unique to him - happening everyday because of the high cost of insulin.. and what sucks is available in Canada for less than a 1/3 of the price even though US manufacturing companies. Hope JoeBiden makes this a talking point