Reply #11: I'm happy, but also sad. And it's not obvious why. [View All]

[tomreedtoon]

Now, I could say that "I'm happy but sad" for one reason. My mother, who died earlier this year, was ravaged by Alzheimer's. Her mind just wasted away. And I didn't even get the brunt of the horror of it; my older sister, with whom she lived, had to face that.

That would be the obvious reason to be happy but sad; sad that it was too late, but happy that someday someone else might be aided by this discovery. But that's not it.

I'm happy that the cure exists, but sad because, thanks to Big Pharma, when the cure is developed it will cost more than 99 percent of the people can afford. Even with insurance. Even if they try something forbidden by the Republicans and try to get it cheaper from Canada.

There's a wonderful world of new medicines and treatments out there. And all we'll be able to do is watch the rich and powerful get them. It might be good that my mother didn't live long enough to see this cure developed, because we would have seen her go without it, and felt even more impotent and angry.