Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, the best quarterback in the Canadian Football League today, entered the debate over U.S. health care reform on Tuesday, simply by recalling his faith during his wife’s valiant effort to beat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Two years, ago, on Oct. 22, 2007, doctors found a tumour between the lungs of Calvillo’s wife Alexia Kontolemos. Now, almost two years later, Alexia is free of the cancer and her future is bright. Calvillo credited Montreal’s doctors and his family’s deep, abiding faith in God for what now appears to be a full recovery.
However, after living eight years in Montreal and after winning the war against cancer, the Calvillo family might not be able to move back to the United States, simply because they have little hope of ever getting health insurance for Alexia.
During an interview for ChristianWeek magazine, Calvillo was asked about his desire to move back to his hometown, Los Angeles, Cal. Calvillo said it was something he’d thought about “after football,” but then said he worried about health care.
“That’s a big concern of ours,” he said. “We’ll do our homework on this, but unless there are changes (Obama’s health care reform), it’s now apparent to us that Alexia would obviously have a pre-existing condition and would never get health insurance in the United States.
“It was amazing here in Montreal. During my wife’s battle with cancer, the doctors in Montreal were wonderful. Our entire family was treated amazingly well, but the care for Alexia was truly outstanding.
“You know, we pay a lot of taxes in Canada. In Quebec, it’s nearly 50 per cent and I know most of it goes to universal health care. But during the entire ordeal, during a period of time when the doctors and hospitals in Montreal did everything they could for us, I didn’t get one bill. For our family, health care in Canada was vital. I’m not sure we’d ever get that in the United States.”