Letters: President Trump as Don Quixote; Drug costs impede necessary therapies

President Trump as Don Quixote

Some Trump supporters wish to see Trump as Don Quixote, an outsider fighting the system.

According to an article in The Guardian, Neil Shaffer, a Republican party chair in Iowa said, “He (President Trump) is still a Don Quixote. People like that. They like a fighter.” In the article, Holly Rasmussen, a spa owner in Iowa, also seems to view Trump as a Quixotic type of hero. Rasmussen backed Obama twice and then flipped to Trump because she wanted to “shake things up.”

Let’s have a look at Don Quixote.

Quixote is old and delusional. He believes he is a Knight Errant on a mission to fight injustice, protect the innocent, and find his ideal woman.

Results of Quixote’s missions:

• He acts like a fool and is severely beaten up by the people he mistakenly attacks.

A few of Quixote’s crazy exploits include:

• Blocks the path of traveling merchants — falls from his horse and is beaten by the merchants
• Thinks a windmill is a huge giant — attacks the windmill and is badly injured
• Thinks traveling monks are Black Enchanters — attacks monks who run away
• Thinks a flock of sheep is an invading army — attacks and kills many sheep
• Attacks men guarding dangerous criminals — frees group of dangerous criminals

Friends try to bring Quixote to his senses with no success.

I see many similarities here between Don Trump and Don Quixote.

Neither Dons are characters to look up to as leaders.

Drug costs impede necessary therapies

To be effective, medication must be accessible. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2010. I was prescribed a disease modifying treatment (DMT), the class of medication used to delay, or even stop, the progression of MS. My first DMT was denied by my insurance company. I needed to “fail” another medication first. Three months later, my insurance changed. My neurologist, and the newly approved DMT, were no longer covered. I shifted to another neurologist and DMT. My MS was continuing to progress. With the help of the National MS Society’s MS Navigators, I transferred to a center specializing in MS. Even with a team of experts who lead the charge to end MS through innovative therapies, research and a multidisciplinary approach, I was still at the mercy of the insurance company’s “step therapy/ fail first” policies and lengthy appeals process. In 10 years with MS, I have taken half doses, or skipping doses altogether, to make medications last longer. I’ve chosen not to fill a prescription at all. I shop for the lowest cost pharmacy options, use coupon and rebate programs, manufacturer copay assistance and private grants. The question always remains: Will I be able to afford my medication? There is no single solution to healing the issues of rapidly increasing drug costs and policies that impede necessary therapies, in more than just MS. I’m sharing my story to help others understand the scope and urgency of this issue. Learn more by visiting www.nationalMSsociety.org/accessmeds.