LANSING, Mich. — Five Michigan families, as well as caregivers, and crash survivors gathered at the Central United Methodist Church Tuesday, not by choice.
People there say the law forced their hand. After changes to no-fault insurance, many Michigan families have lost life-saving care that was once guaranteed under law.
“It just didn’t end up helping anybody. In Jim’s case, it ended up making the end of his life a really long tortuous stretch,” Angelina Bourdage, who lost her husband, said.
Angelina Bourdage lost her husband just seven months after he lost the option to stay at home under her care due to changes in the law.
For seven years she cared for her husband at home with her kids, hoping for new research that could help his injuries from a catastrophic crash.
“He was on a ventilator within 24 hours of leaving my care,” Bourdage said.
Angelina's story, unfortunately, isn't unique. Four other people's stories highlighted at the memorial service all face the same grim ending: a loss of life, after a hard life to begin with.
“I can’t even still wrap my mind around it. There was nothing we could do to help, because they took away every avenue we had,” Bourdage said.
Families gather at the memorial, hopeful by sharing their stories, Lansing lawmakers will pay attention, before other people end up like them.
“People have suffered. People have died,” Bourdage said.
