My Sister is struggling with medical bills
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My sister - Sherri - Was at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Fl. for a bowel resection surgery that ended up being six hours. The surgery left my sister in a more severe situation than when she went in. She is now in a worse situation than when she went in! She is trying to recover at home and has been backed into a corner of doing daily sterile infusions (for nutrition) in a non-clinical environment into her central PICC line. Neither my sister nor her spouse is in the medical field! These infusions are for her nutritional needs as she can no longer eat or drink until her issues are resolved. We are told months! She is on TPN (total parental nutrition) to stabilize the situation through bowel rest. She has endured multiple blood transfusions due to ‘short gut syndrome” and malabsorption problems due to with multiple bowel resection surgeries that followed a complete colectomy.
She was released from the hospital with NO after care assistance for TPN infusions. Nursing homes will it take care of her health because she is on TPN, and they do not have the skilled staff. So how, one asks, scratching their heads, does the system expect my sister and her husband to do it!
For over 20 years, Sherri has been battling bowel disease and it has taken so much from her. The ability to sing, the ability to work, the ability to exercise and the ability to see her friends. She is a strong person who has overcome the odds to make it where she is today. But her body is struggling to heal itself and she will need months of care to get her life back. If she can get daily in home care for the infusions, we feel that would ease the burden on both my sister, her husband, and the strain on their marriage that comes with a scorching situation like this. Home care is $140 a visit. That would be $4,300 a month for just one visit a day. Other expenses are hotel stays for her husband (they are three and a half hours away from the hospital that does her surgeries), co-pays and deductibles, loss of income, inability to save money for retirement due not only to the loss of income but the expenses over the years.
Her husband works as the sole provider due to my sisters health and has been by her side for over 30 years. He often takes time off from work to care for Sherri. But as her situation deteriorated it was clear she needed to go back into the hospital. Now he is looking at taking more time off work which they cannot afford as he is the sole wage earner. In addition, he is not an LPN or an RN! Why should he be the primary care giver for my sister when he also must provide for her and lacks the formal medical training to provide care.
It should be criminal to release my sister without the proper aftercare and assistance. She has so much more life to live and support her community. This is the sad commentary on the state of our current health system.
Now they are planning to sell their house and personal items to cover the expected medical bills. Even with an outrageous deductible they will face serious financial hardship, destroy any thought of retirement, and put even more strain on their marriage.
The funds raised will cover the cost of nursing to come in daily, help with previous and any future hotel expenses, and some loss income.
She was released from the hospital with NO after care assistance for TPN infusions. Nursing homes will it take care of her health because she is on TPN, and they do not have the skilled staff. So how, one asks, scratching their heads, does the system expect my sister and her husband to do it!
For over 20 years, Sherri has been battling bowel disease and it has taken so much from her. The ability to sing, the ability to work, the ability to exercise and the ability to see her friends. She is a strong person who has overcome the odds to make it where she is today. But her body is struggling to heal itself and she will need months of care to get her life back. If she can get daily in home care for the infusions, we feel that would ease the burden on both my sister, her husband, and the strain on their marriage that comes with a scorching situation like this. Home care is $140 a visit. That would be $4,300 a month for just one visit a day. Other expenses are hotel stays for her husband (they are three and a half hours away from the hospital that does her surgeries), co-pays and deductibles, loss of income, inability to save money for retirement due not only to the loss of income but the expenses over the years.
Her husband works as the sole provider due to my sisters health and has been by her side for over 30 years. He often takes time off from work to care for Sherri. But as her situation deteriorated it was clear she needed to go back into the hospital. Now he is looking at taking more time off work which they cannot afford as he is the sole wage earner. In addition, he is not an LPN or an RN! Why should he be the primary care giver for my sister when he also must provide for her and lacks the formal medical training to provide care.
It should be criminal to release my sister without the proper aftercare and assistance. She has so much more life to live and support her community. This is the sad commentary on the state of our current health system.
Now they are planning to sell their house and personal items to cover the expected medical bills. Even with an outrageous deductible they will face serious financial hardship, destroy any thought of retirement, and put even more strain on their marriage.
The funds raised will cover the cost of nursing to come in daily, help with previous and any future hotel expenses, and some loss income.
Organiser and beneficiary
Marc Levin
Organiser
Edmonds, WA
Sherri Hanseon
Beneficiary