- E
Lisa Wilkinson, our big sister, a mother, a grandmother, a wife, a daughter, a simple woman, and a child of God.
On a cold December night in 2019, Lisa could not stand the pain any longer. She was unable to walk. This had been ongoing for two months. She was done being tough and wanted answers.
She proceeded to a nearby Emergency Room where she was hauled into the exam room. They gave her morphine for relief. This did not touch the pain. The physicians proceeded with the work up.
Meanwhile her thoughts ensued, "how will I pay for this. Will they even take care of me?"
She did not have health insurance (she could not afford it) and she hoped the pain would dissipate on its own. But, it never did.
The physician proceeded with a left leg x-ray which revealed a 7 cm lytic lesion in her tibia. 7 CENTIMETERS IN HER TIBIA. Ouch!
LYTIC is never a good sign. Yet, she was discharged home with pain medicine and follow up with her PCP.
Lisa had never been sick. She never required a primary care doctor. It was up to her to find a financially reasonable provider to see. This was difficult and time was of the essence.
She found one that placed her on pain medication for cancer related pain and antidepressants for the depression and anxiety that comes with the disease process.
She was referred to oncologists, but they would not take her case due to lack of insurance.
One night, her pain was uncontrolled despite heavy narcotics. I told her to "get to MD Anderson ER. They cannot turn you away." Sure enough, she got a ride from family members and they admitted her.
She was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a bone marrow cancer that can cause tumors in the bones.
She had surgery on her leg the next day removing a portion of her tibia, fibula, and femur. This was replaced with hardware.
She developed a form of arrhythmia called Ventricular Tachycardia in surgery, this resolved on its own. But, postoperatively she was overtly short of breath.
A CT scan revealed a large pulmonary embolism. She needed treatment with lovenox injections for at least 6 months.
Do you know how much lovenox costs without insurance? I know exactly how much. $358 per month, to be exact.
In the midst of recovery, she was meeting all checkpoints. Pushing herself to new limits with the physical therapists. However, one day her physical therapist pushed her a little to hard.
She was advised to walk without her walker. In doing so, her leg gave out bending behind her and busting the fresh incision open exposing the hardware. She was taken immediately back to surgery.
I'm not sure if that physical therapist still has a job.
She was also setup with oncology. They would not proceed with treatments until she had some source of payment.
Case management was involved in my sisters case, but were unable to secure any resources to fund her treatment.
From 600 miles away, I tried to plug in to help.
I advised my sister to try to enroll in medicaid, she was denied.
She is 55 years old and not quite old enough for medicare.
I advised her to try to enroll in some form of health insurance, but she was advised that she could not enroll until enrollment period. This was another 7 MONTHS AWAY. Are you kidding me?!
We have emailed several cancer resource funds in hopes of financial help but they have all turned her down.
She is currently working on disability in hopes that she will not be turned away.
My name is Brittney Roberts, I am Lisa's sister, and I am a physician assistant myself working with some of the sickest patients in America. It is difficult for me to see a medical provider, who went to school to care for others, to have to turn a patient away because of financial reasons.
We did not go to school to turn people away.
Lisa has gone 7 MONTHS without any treatment for her cancer all because of insurance.
She recently was readmitted to Healthcare Houston Kingwood for a humerus fracture secondary to a tumor in her humerus. The oncologist planned to do a bone marrow transplant, but within the same day the hospitalist discharged her with no directions and no follow up.
Currently, she cannot walk and can only use one arm due to pain.
I have started this GoFundMe page with the essentials as the medical costs are astronomical. Lisa left MD Anderson with a half million dollar bill waiting for her at home. This is not feasible to pay.
But, I think she would benefit from help with associated costs including :
- lovenox injections she requires monthly
- medications for cancer related pain and depression/anxiety
- primary care visits to continue to get these medications
- transportation to and from appointments
- medical equipment including walkers, slings, etc.
Help with these extra things would offset the stress she herself deals with as well as her husband Pete and her children Josh and James. She also has four amazing grandchildren to get back to playing with.
We thank you for your donations, your prayers, and your ability to share this GoFundMe page with the world!
On a cold December night in 2019, Lisa could not stand the pain any longer. She was unable to walk. This had been ongoing for two months. She was done being tough and wanted answers.
She proceeded to a nearby Emergency Room where she was hauled into the exam room. They gave her morphine for relief. This did not touch the pain. The physicians proceeded with the work up.
Meanwhile her thoughts ensued, "how will I pay for this. Will they even take care of me?"
She did not have health insurance (she could not afford it) and she hoped the pain would dissipate on its own. But, it never did.
The physician proceeded with a left leg x-ray which revealed a 7 cm lytic lesion in her tibia. 7 CENTIMETERS IN HER TIBIA. Ouch!
LYTIC is never a good sign. Yet, she was discharged home with pain medicine and follow up with her PCP.
Lisa had never been sick. She never required a primary care doctor. It was up to her to find a financially reasonable provider to see. This was difficult and time was of the essence.
She found one that placed her on pain medication for cancer related pain and antidepressants for the depression and anxiety that comes with the disease process.
She was referred to oncologists, but they would not take her case due to lack of insurance.
One night, her pain was uncontrolled despite heavy narcotics. I told her to "get to MD Anderson ER. They cannot turn you away." Sure enough, she got a ride from family members and they admitted her.
She was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a bone marrow cancer that can cause tumors in the bones.
She had surgery on her leg the next day removing a portion of her tibia, fibula, and femur. This was replaced with hardware.
She developed a form of arrhythmia called Ventricular Tachycardia in surgery, this resolved on its own. But, postoperatively she was overtly short of breath.
A CT scan revealed a large pulmonary embolism. She needed treatment with lovenox injections for at least 6 months.
Do you know how much lovenox costs without insurance? I know exactly how much. $358 per month, to be exact.
In the midst of recovery, she was meeting all checkpoints. Pushing herself to new limits with the physical therapists. However, one day her physical therapist pushed her a little to hard.
She was advised to walk without her walker. In doing so, her leg gave out bending behind her and busting the fresh incision open exposing the hardware. She was taken immediately back to surgery.
I'm not sure if that physical therapist still has a job.
She was also setup with oncology. They would not proceed with treatments until she had some source of payment.
Case management was involved in my sisters case, but were unable to secure any resources to fund her treatment.
From 600 miles away, I tried to plug in to help.
I advised my sister to try to enroll in medicaid, she was denied.
She is 55 years old and not quite old enough for medicare.
I advised her to try to enroll in some form of health insurance, but she was advised that she could not enroll until enrollment period. This was another 7 MONTHS AWAY. Are you kidding me?!
We have emailed several cancer resource funds in hopes of financial help but they have all turned her down.
She is currently working on disability in hopes that she will not be turned away.
My name is Brittney Roberts, I am Lisa's sister, and I am a physician assistant myself working with some of the sickest patients in America. It is difficult for me to see a medical provider, who went to school to care for others, to have to turn a patient away because of financial reasons.
We did not go to school to turn people away.
Lisa has gone 7 MONTHS without any treatment for her cancer all because of insurance.
She recently was readmitted to Healthcare Houston Kingwood for a humerus fracture secondary to a tumor in her humerus. The oncologist planned to do a bone marrow transplant, but within the same day the hospitalist discharged her with no directions and no follow up.
Currently, she cannot walk and can only use one arm due to pain.
I have started this GoFundMe page with the essentials as the medical costs are astronomical. Lisa left MD Anderson with a half million dollar bill waiting for her at home. This is not feasible to pay.
But, I think she would benefit from help with associated costs including :
- lovenox injections she requires monthly
- medications for cancer related pain and depression/anxiety
- primary care visits to continue to get these medications
- transportation to and from appointments
- medical equipment including walkers, slings, etc.
Help with these extra things would offset the stress she herself deals with as well as her husband Pete and her children Josh and James. She also has four amazing grandchildren to get back to playing with.
We thank you for your donations, your prayers, and your ability to share this GoFundMe page with the world!