Ann and I both have a nasty upper respiratory virus. I don't know about you, but when I am feeling low, I like to focus on things for which I am thankful. It kind of shifts things in a better direction. It is also a nice way to start a weekend!
So, I will start off. And please, in the comments, tell me something good that is happening in your world! Sharing good things only increases the joy in them...
The thing I am most grateful for today, as I sit typing, is health care. I not only have access to health care, I have a doctor I like and trust. So does Ann. And because of that, getting through this virus is a lot easier.
Ann had the bug first and lost her voice last week. This was problematic because on Friday, she was supposed to speak at a fundraiser for a charity called Project Access Now, the program that helps her with her insurance premiums. She was supposed to tell the crowd about how she was helped when she had sepsis last year and came dangerously close to dying. She couldn't speak, so I went and spoke for her. As the man who sat next to me that night said, thanks that are not spoken are not really given (he was there to speak and thank the charity)...so in that spirit, I am going to repeat my thanks right here. Here was my little speech:
My sister, Ann Reed, is a premium assistance client whose life was saved by Project Access Now last June.
We had signed up under ACA in January last year with the help of the Coalition of Community Clinics. I remember the day well because it was snowing hard and my sister was crying because she did not know how she would pay the premiums. A couple of weeks later, we got a call from the Coalition telling us about Project Access Now. It was a godsend. Ann became an established patient of The Providence and was enrolled in the program by March.
Less than three months later, the unthinkable happened. Ann was struck very suddenly with racking chills and abdominal pain one Sunday. I took her temperature. It was 103.1. Fifteen minutes later, it was 103.6. Before Project Access Now, in this situation we would have gritted our teeth and delayed going to the ER – because that’s what you do when you don’t have insurance and fear complete financial ruin. But because she had coverage, we did not delay another minute in getting her to the ER. The ER doctor told me Ann had sepsis, a dangerous blood borne infection, and that if we had waited until the next morning, Ann would have died or suffered major organ failure. After a long evening of tests, Ann was admitted to the hospital where she received multiple antibiotics by IV for several days. She survived, she was not ruined – and both of us are exceedingly grateful for the help she received.
Ann’s story could have been a tragedy but instead had a happy ending because of Project Access Now. This program saves lives.
Thank you.
The crowd seemed to love this -- and a lot of good people opened their wallets for Project Access Now that night. It wasn't all about premium assistance, either -- it is really about access. They help poor people connect with providers and help immigrants navigate the system to get care (others spoke to those issues).
So that is my "something good" for tonight. Please tell me yours! Share your day, your weekend plans, your menus, your pootie pics, anything that is on your mind!
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