Emergency Surgery and Healthcare for Mele

(Written by Mele) Last month I was having pain in my right lower stomach and went to the emergency room when it got too painful for me to walk. I sat in the waiting room for seven hours until I got a bed around 1:00 a.m. Just sitting in the waiting room cost me almost $6,000. After the doctors took a CT scan, they rushed me in for emergency surgery around 3:00 a.m. to remove my appendix. My healthcare bills came out to be an excess of $65,000. Although I have insurance, my surgery was only partially covered. The emergency room staff recommended surgery immediately due to the enlarged size of my inflamed appendix. Thank God I was able to get it removed immediately before it burst, which is fatal. As many of you know, when you’re faced with a life or death situation, there are bills that aren’t covered by insurance. This was something that was quite shocking, as the amount of my overall medical costs well exceeded $65,000. In addition to my medical bills, I temporarily lost my income due to my time off of work to recover. Not only was I unable to work at my local coffee shop, but I also wasn’t able to teach my hula or 'ori students, which I love. All of the donations from this fundraiser will go to my total unpaid healthcare bills. Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much)!