guardian.co.uk — Chances are you've probably never heard of Amelia Rivera, a three year-old from New Jersey. Chances are better you have heard of 29-year-old Canadian, Sarah Burke, one of the best freestyle skiers in the world. Burke and Rivera don't have a lot in common, but tragically, their families do. Both have been borne the scars of a callous and broken U.S. healthcare system. Burke, the six-time X Games gold medalist, was training in Park City Utah, 20 January, when she crashed and suffered major brain trauma. Burke spent nine days in neuro-critical care before, sadly, she died. As if the grief of her death was not enough, Burke's husband had to start a website to ask for donations to help pay the massive medical bill, estimates ranging as high as $550,000. Amelia Rivera, meanwhile, has reportedly been denied a kidney transplant by a Philadelphia hospital because of mental disabilities she was born with from a rare genetic defect.
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