My brother didn’t get Covid-19, but he was a victim of it anyway – CNN

He was 41 when he died. And though he faced substance use disorder throughout his adult life, David was sober nearly the entire year leading up to the pandemic. When I saw him over dinner and donuts last November on a visit to Los Angeles, he was crushing life. I was proud of him. My handsome, charming big brother finally had it together. (Of course, even when he didn't have it "together," he was still my biggest champion.) David was thriving as a personal trainer at a gym. He loved being a dad and absolutely adored his little girl. Although they weren't living together at the time, he would text me most days with photos and videos of my niece. The last text he ever sent me on March 13 was a paraphrase of a quote he'd heard by myth scholar Joseph Campbell: "When you live a life for someone other than yourself, you are living a hero's journey," my brother wrote.

We worried about him. David plus free time was historically a recipe for disaster. I should have checked in. Aside from an email he sent me on March 17, congratulating me for a new article I wrote that week, I hadn't heard from David. The updates about my niece stopped. I should have known something was wrong.

On the phone with our father an hour or so before we learned of my brother's death, our dad said to me, "I'm worried about David. I don't know what kind of trouble he's going to get into now that he's not working and can't see his daughter. I think he's been sleeping all day." He sounded worried. David wasn't returning his calls that day. That night, I received a Facebook message from David's landlord asking me to give him a call. Thinking, hoping that David owed rent money, I sent his number to our father. My dad called me back shortly after speaking with the landlord, with a message he had long dreaded delivering: "David passed away."

Yet, when history books tally Covid-19's tragedies, David is likely to be left off the official count. Instead, he'll be sectioned off as part of the opioid crisis. In reality, these crises are inextricably connected. President Donald Trump may not have created either, but his attacks on health care and his disregard for science exacerbates these dual crises. In the middle of a pandemic and an economic downturn, the President shamelessly continues his crusade against health care, science, compassion and kindness: some of the most powerful tools we have to treat Americans and society at large.

If he gets his way, the Supreme Court will soon have a sixth vote that could strike down all of the Affordable Care Act and permanently end Obamacare for roughly 20 million people, a devastating scenario for Americans with substance use disorder who rely on Medicaid.

The expansion of Medicare and Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act meant significantly more people with substance use disorder had access to insurance. As with other pre-existing conditions, substance use disorder could no longer be a reason for an insurance company to deny someone coverage.

A compassionate leader would acknowledge the pain and struggles of people impacted by substance use disorder. Trump made it a cruel and factless punch against his opponent.

It is entirely possible my brother would have died regardless of who was president, pandemic or no pandemic. It's also probable that no matter how hard he worked to fight his disease, forces outside his control mixed with his medical condition and created a tragedy. I will never know exactly what happened in the final week of my brother's life. Nor does it matter. He is never coming back. But while it is too late to save my brother, there are countless people out there who can still be saved.

Through kindness, compassion, and modern medicine, we can stop more senseless deaths and tragedies. But we need a president who will champion these values. We need a president who will treat our society with science, compassion, and kindness. When Americans cast their ballots this election, I hope they consider the many layers of loss during this moment. I hope they consider my brother.

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My brother didn't get Covid-19, but he was a victim of it anyway - CNN