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Lory Peters Recovery Fund

Dr. Lory Peters is a piano teacher  in Scottsdale, Arizona. Over four decades of teaching, in classrooms and individually, thousands of adults and kids have learned the piano with her gentle and loving teaching methods. I am proud to be married to such a wonderful wife and teacher.

Lory's Medical Story

Six years ago, Lory was stricken by the H1N1 virus. After more than two weeks on a ventilator, she eventually recovered, but suffered lasting effects from the infection and intubation.

It was bad. But there was more to come.

An artificial ankle inserted in her foot ten years earlier became infected in 2018. The infection spread quickly throughout her body, including her heart. The infection was eventually treated, but her ankle joint had to be removed. A concrete spacer was placed in her foot as a temporary measure until her ankle could be repaired, either by fusing the ankle or inserting an artificial ankle.



Insurance Company Cancels Coverage

As she was being treated in the hospital, our health insurance company wrongly cancelled coverage. Imagine  you are in the hospital with a life-threatening infection, and also having to spend hours on the phone, trying to get the insurance company to restore coverage.

It was surreal experience and a terrible indictment of the way Americans often have to fight private insurance companies to get the care they need.

A legal appeal eventually forced the company to reinstate insurance  coverage. However, acting with extreme bad faith, the insurance company refused to pay Lory's medical bills. The company claimed that the emergency hospital stay was not pre-certified. It also said that the doctors treating Lory at the in-network facility were actually out-of-network and not eligiible for payment.

The company's aggregious behavior forced the Arizona legislature to make this practice illegal, but the effective date of the law was after Lory's illness. It was too late for us and we were stuck with the bills.


Mounting Bills and Bankruptcy

With more than $700,000 in medical bills coming due, it fell on us to pay what the insurance company refused. We paid as many bills as we could, but no family can handle a financial crisis like. Finally, we ran out of money.  With bill collectors calling, we were forced to file for bankruptcy in late 2019.

The Aftermath

The bankruptcy was discharged in late January, just as the Covid-19 crisis began to unfold. Like everyone else, we have been forced to stay at home, severely limiting our earnings. Lory has health insurance -- with a different company. But the deductibles and copays are very high. After bankruptcy, we do not have the funds to pay our part of the surgeries Lory needs. 



What's Next?

Since starting this campaign, we have found an excellent orthpedic surgeon here in Phoenix to perform the surgery. His plan is to repair Lory's severely damaged ankle with a bone fusion. This will allow her to walk pain-free. However, the fusion will give her less ankle flexibility.


I ask you to consider a donation to help restore Lory's health. She needs to  continue doing what she does best -- teach the piano! If you are uncomfortable making a donation on this site, please contact me at [email redacted] for other options.

Thank you.

Nicholas Peters

P.S. We understand the extreme financial stress that the Covid-19 crisis is causing across the world. If you cannot donate, we ask that you keep Lory in your prayers and perhaps share her story on your Facebook page and on other social media sites.

Organizer

Nicholas Peters
Organizer
Scottsdale, AZ

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