There, but for the Grace of God, go I.

For the record:

I consider myself deeply and profoundly blessed to have grown up in a country where I had access to free-at-point-of-delivery medical care, and to have moved to another where this is the case.

I have multiple chronic health problems, none of which are all that straightforward to diagnose. Two of them require medication every day; a third requires regular use of painkillers (at this stage, over the counter doses of ibuprofen suffice). I have also had considerable mental health difficulties.

Without the NHS I could not afford my medication. This would seriously affect my ability to function and would mean I'd get more ill far more quickly than I will if I take my tablets.

Without the NHS I would not have had the medical attention which has made it possible for me to walk again, to play my instruments again, to finish my degree... and even if I had managed that, I would be living with the knowledge that eventually I will need prescription painkillers, and I won't be able to afford those, either.

Without the NHS I would not have been able to access treatment for depression; the different antidepressant medications I used to take would have been beyond my means and I certainly would not have been able to pay for the nearly three years of psychotherapy which were a significant factor in my recovery.

Without the NHS I would not have the contraceptive choices I have. I can't begin to catalogue the ways my life would be different if I had married my first boyfriend around a decade ago; I now know that my joint problems mean bearing children might cripple me. The thought of being married to that man, though I love him dearly, is not one that fills me with joy. The thought of being depressed and in constant pain and trying to look after children I can't really care for myself? Horrific.

There are ways in which the NHS has failed me. There are ways in which it has failed many. But I have a life in which I am able to work and play and laugh and love to nearly the best of my ability given my circumstances, and without the medical treatment I have had access to I would be miserable.

I love my life, I work hard, I try to make the world a little bit better and bring some beauty or love or laughter to those around me if I can. Without the NHS I could not. That's my reality.

I deserve to be able to do that. And so does every other human on this planet.

More bloggers on the NHS, and particularly its portrayal in US media:
Nick Baines
The Exegesis Fairy
The World of Doorman-Priest