Yeah, the American healthcare system is a real motherfucker. And here's a depressing story of how horrible it can be that many of us might not be familiar with. I myself didn't even know about this guy until about a week ago.
Vic Chesnutt was one of the most fascinating singer-songwriters in recent memory. One crucial thing to understand about him is that, when he was eighteen, he was in a car crash. He survived, but he was rendered technically quadraplegic. Well, it's not quite what you'd think, because the injury wasn't quite as complete as it was in the case of, say, Christopher Reeve. He still had feeling in his body, and had enough feeling in his legs that he could move them, but not enough to allow him to walk to any meaningful degree (to quote one of his last interviews, "I can walk with a walker, somewhat, but not really functionally. If I fell down I'd never be able to get up.") But, more crucially to his calling, the movement in his hands was compromised, but he could still play simple chords, and enough of his diaphragm was saved from paralysis that he could still sing. And he recorded seventeen albums in his life, and here's one of his best songs:
And for a better idea of what he was like when he didn't have a backing band glossing over his imperfections:
He died the same year he recorded that song (and a year after that last video). He killed himself with an overdose of muscle relaxants. Why? Well, in that interview I mentioned earlier, he mentioned he was $50,000 in debt for medical expenses because his condition pretty much kept him uninsurable. Near the end, he said: "I mean, I could die only because I cannot afford to go in there again. I don't want to die, especially just because of I don't have enough money to go in the hospital. But that's the reality of it. You know, I have a preexisting condition, my quadriplegia, and I can't get health insurance." And so, 24 days after saying those words, something happened (presumably some medical issue flaring up that he could not afford to treat, I have not been able to find information on what that final catalyst was) and he emptied a bottle of his meds into his gullet. Thanks to this, I am limited to Youtube videos and his 17 albums in my quest to experience this man's art. And all because he couldn't afford to treat his medical problems.
Vic Chesnutt was one of the most fascinating singer-songwriters in recent memory. One crucial thing to understand about him is that, when he was eighteen, he was in a car crash. He survived, but he was rendered technically quadraplegic. Well, it's not quite what you'd think, because the injury wasn't quite as complete as it was in the case of, say, Christopher Reeve. He still had feeling in his body, and had enough feeling in his legs that he could move them, but not enough to allow him to walk to any meaningful degree (to quote one of his last interviews, "I can walk with a walker, somewhat, but not really functionally. If I fell down I'd never be able to get up.") But, more crucially to his calling, the movement in his hands was compromised, but he could still play simple chords, and enough of his diaphragm was saved from paralysis that he could still sing. And he recorded seventeen albums in his life, and here's one of his best songs:
And for a better idea of what he was like when he didn't have a backing band glossing over his imperfections:
He died the same year he recorded that song (and a year after that last video). He killed himself with an overdose of muscle relaxants. Why? Well, in that interview I mentioned earlier, he mentioned he was $50,000 in debt for medical expenses because his condition pretty much kept him uninsurable. Near the end, he said: "I mean, I could die only because I cannot afford to go in there again. I don't want to die, especially just because of I don't have enough money to go in the hospital. But that's the reality of it. You know, I have a preexisting condition, my quadriplegia, and I can't get health insurance." And so, 24 days after saying those words, something happened (presumably some medical issue flaring up that he could not afford to treat, I have not been able to find information on what that final catalyst was) and he emptied a bottle of his meds into his gullet. Thanks to this, I am limited to Youtube videos and his 17 albums in my quest to experience this man's art. And all because he couldn't afford to treat his medical problems.
Comparing the Universal Oneness of All Life to Yo Mama since 2010.
![[Image: harmlesskitchen.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/yxR97P23/harmlesskitchen.png)
I was born with the gift of laughter and a sense the world is mad.
I was born with the gift of laughter and a sense the world is mad.
