“How many more young Type 1 diabetes patients have to die before something finally changes?” his fiancee, Rose Walters said.
When Josh Wilkerson turned 26, he was kicked out of his stepfather's health insurance plan, which was a problem for Wilkerson. Like many other diabetics his age, he could not afford the prescription brand he needed.
According to Washington Post, his prescribed insulin was around $1,200, but since he couldn't afford that, he had to depend on over-the-counter insulin that sells for $25 a vial at Walmart.
27-year-old Wilkerson, who earned $16.50 an hour working as a dog kennel supervisor, opted for the cheaper, over-the-counter insulin over the pricey alternative, his mother, Erin Waver shared.
His fiancee, Rose Walters, 27, also has a genetically driven form of the disease known as Type 1 diabetes. “It’s very hard,” Walters said. He and Walters started using the insulin they bought at Walmart together in the winter of 2018. “How many more young Type 1 diabetes patients have to die before something finally changes?” Walters added.
The couple was planning on getting married in October 2019. They switched to cheaper insulin in the hope to save some money for the rustic barn house ceremony they wanted. But they had no idea that one decision would prove to be so fatal.
Josh Wilkerson 27, Diabetic dies because he couldn't afford $1,200-a-month for his insulin medication.
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) August 7, 2019
THIS IS NOT OK!
No one should have to die because the can't afford their medication. Especially a medication like insulin!
Insulin 👏🏽should 👏🏾 be 👏🏿 free 👏🏽#JusticeForJosh pic.twitter.com/tlUwQPCexf
In June 2019, he fell into a vegetative state after having multiple mini-strokes. He died five days later.
The young man complained of stomach issues to his soon-to-be-wife over FaceTime one night before signing off. However, he suffered from multiple strokes later on and ended up in a diabetic coma. His blood sugar was 17 times higher than what is considered normal.
"It was at this apartment, on Monday, June 10, 2019, that his fiancée Rose found him lying on the shower floor unresponsive. She had talked to him Sunday evening and he reported feeling very sick but said that his blood sugar was fine and he thought he had a stomach bug."
"Rose called 911 and the paramedics did CPR for 20 minutes while on the short drive to the hospital. In the emergency room the doctors had to shock his heart twice to revive him. The staff at the hospital had never seen a blood glucose reading as high as Josh’s before. They began extensive life-saving and brain cooling procedures immediately. My son was in a coma," Waver wrote on T1I International's website.
"The price of having diabetes is higher than it should be in the Land of the Free. We need pricing regulation and the companies responsible for these high prices must be held accountable because people like my son are dying," she added.
According to New York Post, the type of insulin that Wilkerson got for a much cheaper rate is known as “human insulin” and requires more time to start becoming effective compared to the other version. However, it only cost one-tenth of what he was paying before, so it seemed reasonable for Wilkerson to make the switch.
Wilkerson was one among the 30 million residents of the United States that live with diabetes every day, according to The American Diabetes Association.
Hopefully, his unfortunate death, like that of several others, will help reduce the price of the medication that will help save a life.
References:
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/
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