The recent passing of Eric Dane, an actor, has prompted quite a bit of discussion regarding chronic and serious illness and the astronomical care costs associated with both. Dane suffered from and succumbed to ALS, a horrific disease, and from what I have been seeing online, a lot of people are absolutely flabbergasted over the fact that Dane had a GoFundMe set up to assist with his medical costs.
On a surface level, I can understand why people are rather taken aback by the fact that a Hollywood actor had to set up a fundraiser to help cover the cost of his medical expenses. As we are well aware, A-list celebrities are usually rather wealthy, thus it is understandable why the general public is so stunned by Dane’s GoFundMe. Anyone who is a member of the chronic illness community, however, can immediately understand why Dane required the fundraiser, because living with and managing chronic illness, conditions and pains is a ludicrously expensive situation.
While Dane’s death is terrible, I suppose if a positive can be found in it, it would be that his passing has shed a much-needed light on the topic of how costly it is to be ill. If we aren’t chronically ill ourselves, and we don’t personally know anyone who is, it is far too easy to remain blind to the astronomical costs that come with the necessary medical care to treat the illness in question. So, while Dane’s passing is tragic, I hope his family can perhaps find comfort in the awareness he has brought to the topic of the costs affiliated with chronic and incurable conditions.
If you do happen to know someone who is chronically ill, I’m not meaning to suggest you should open your wallet to them and provide them with your life’s earnings. But, perhaps being a little more mindful of the expenses of chronic illness could benefit all of us, collectively.
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash
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