UNEXPECTED BLESSING

Rarely am I speechless.  Today was a rare day.  


Community partnerships are very important for grassroots organizations like ours.  We have a VERY generous partner.  PARK SQUARE HOMES held a unique fundraiser for us in October.  They agreed to donate a portion of every home sold during the month to COMPASSIONATE HANDS AND HEARTS.  I was thinking, in this housing market, that's probably going to be a small donation.  LOL


I am pleased to report I was wrong.  VERY WRONG.  Today three execs from the company, including the CEO, came by for the check presentation.  The expected small donation turned out to be a very generous check for $8000.  For a small organization with a dedicated band of volunteers, this is HUGE !!!


It's so exciting for us as an organization.  But more importantly, it's going to help us change the lives of some local breast cancer patients and their families.  We're looking forward to what this will allow us to do !


Vanessa Echols
Founder

HEALTHCARE FRUSTRATIONS

**SPECIAL NOTE:  This post  is from one of our COMPASSIONATE HANDS AND HEARTS BREAST CANCER OUTREACH clients.  She beautifully and eloquently describes the frustration many patients feel as they navigate their way through the health care system during their treatment phase.

I never imagined when I quit my job and relocated my family from Seattle to Orlando to attend law school, that nearly one year to the date, I would receive the most devastating news of my life. On July 18, 2011, my life changed forever when I received the phone call that every woman dreads; my physician called and told me that I have breast cancer. I was in shock; I am only 31 years old. However my shock quickly turned to anger as I began to navigate the healthcare system.

My journey started on June 3oth when I visited the ER after experiencing extreme swelling of my right breast. During my ER visit I was told that I likely had a breast infection and I was given antibiotics with directions to follow up with an Ob/Gyn. During my appointment with the Ob/Gyn she told me she felt a lump, and ordered an immediate diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. During my mammogram and ultrasound the radiologist found two suspicious lumps and an inflamed lymph node and ordered a biopsy.  Four days later was told that I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very rare form of breast cancer. Only 1-5% of all women diagnosed with breast cancer are diagnosed with this form of cancer. 

One year ago I was employed, working at a major Seattle hospital, and through my job I had superb health insurance that covered my entire family for little cost. However, my husband and I decided to give up our careers and relocated over 3,000 miles so I could pursue my dream of becoming an attorney and attend law school. While we both planned to secure employment after relocating, due to the state of the economy we were forced to apply for state Medicaid assistance in order to have health insurance benefits for our children (ages 6 and  4) as well as for ourselves. During the course of one year I have successfully completed my first year of law school. I have also applied for hundreds of jobs, yet despite my education and skill level, I still remain unemployed, and because of this, my family and I remain on Medicaid insurance. 

After receiving my diagnosis I quickly learned that the type of insurance you have greatly affects how you will be treated. Due to my status as a Medicaid recipient, and despite my terrible diagnosis and prognosis, I was repeatedly turned away by doctors because they did not accept my insurance. I was even told by one doctor’s office that they did not care about my diagnosis, because my health is not their concern, they need to get paid, and Medicaid does not pay full cost. I could not believe that a doctor’s office was not worried about my health; is this what America has become? I felt that because I have Medicaid, the doctors that turned me away felt I was not a person worth treating. Was my life suddenly not worth saving? I even asked my sister, “should I die because I have state issued insurance”?

 While I am very grateful for the wonderful and caring doctor’s that have accepted my insurance, and are trying desperately to save my life through chemotherapy, a surgery, and radiation; I am still angry and hurt that because of my state issued insurance I was turned away when in need of life saving treatment. I cannot help but to break down in tears because it is difficult to accept that because of my insurance, my life is viewed by many doctors as less important than the life of someone who has “good” insurance.  Is my life less valuable now that I’m a Medicaid recipient than it was one year ago when I had “good” insurance coverage? I certainly do not think so. No matter what I am still a mother, wife, daughter, sister, law student and friend despite my insurance status; and there are many people that would miss me if I were gone, and to them my insurance status doesn’t matter, they want me to live; and be healthy. I just wish the doctor’s that turn people like me away would focus more on caring for patients than making money.