A face to Detroit’s bankruptcy: Paralyzed firefighter to lose health benefits
The federal government is telling wounded warriors coming back from overseas that they’ll no longer take care of them.
Here’s one of those warriors, firefighter Brendan Milewski, in his own words.
“August 13, 2010 – Friday the 13th – I was only at work for a couple minutes, never even stepped foot in the firehouse, taking my gear out of the car. We’ve got to run down to Jefferson and Drexel. We were working on the scene for ten, fifteen minutes and, without warning, a building collapsed on us.
“I was hit with a chunk of limestone the size of a parking lot, and that basically exploded my seventh thoracic vertebra. Now I’m left to live the rest of my life as a T6 Paraplegic.
“It’s a complete loss of identity for me, to be in this position now and not amongst my peers, and seen as weak and feeble and handicapped and disabled. I hate all these words. I hate that they describe me.
“I got a letter saying that my healthcare, through the city of Detroit, was going to be terminated as of January 1, 2014, and that, if I don’t have another plan purchased by December 15th of this year, that I’ll have a gap in coverage. And they’re offering a $200 a month stipend to supplement the cost of purchasing my own health insurance.
Source: Charlie LeDuff, My Fox Detroit
