Steve's Recovery Fund
Donation protected
On Wednesday, July 5, I reveied a phone call that I was not prepared for. My 40-year old brother, Steve, had suffered a serious heart attack and was currently undergoing emergency surgery to place 2 stents. I immediately jumped on a plane and flew to Chicago to be with him and my family.
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. He was discharged from the hopsital 3 days later, and is currently home recovering. There were no major complications, and he is already back to work!
Unfortunately, the rest of the story is not as good... Steve was uninsured at the time of the event and does not qualify for public assistance. The plan is to get him enrolled via the Affordable Care Act. However, the next open enrollment period does not begin until October, and insurance would not take effect until Januray of 2018.
Although he is doing well, over the next 5 months (until insurance kicks in) he will have to pay out of pocket for Cardiology visits, Primary Care visits, Pulmonology vistis, Cardiac Rehabilitation training, Sleep Apnea studies, and 4 different Prescriptions. The estimation for his out of pocket costs for all of these visits, and programs and RXs is nearly $14,000.
And that is ignoring the monumental bill that he will be receiving for his hospitalization, including surgery and 2 days in the ICU.
In the end, I am grateful just to have my brother back. I couldn't fathom the hole that he would have left behind if he hadn't received emergency care. I now want to be sure that he can continue receiveing care until his insurance will kick in.
I'm asking, on Steve's behalf, for $5000 toward these bills, which doesn't even cover half of the bills he will have over the next few months. Anything in excess of $5000 will be applied to additional medical expenses, and potentially toward his hospitalization bill.
I am forever grateful to my family and friends for considering this campaign. It is alot to ask for, and I do not take this lightly. I will be supervising this account to ensure that the funds are only used for medical services and medical bills related to this event.
Thank you so much for considering.
Sincerely,
John
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. He was discharged from the hopsital 3 days later, and is currently home recovering. There were no major complications, and he is already back to work!
Unfortunately, the rest of the story is not as good... Steve was uninsured at the time of the event and does not qualify for public assistance. The plan is to get him enrolled via the Affordable Care Act. However, the next open enrollment period does not begin until October, and insurance would not take effect until Januray of 2018.
Although he is doing well, over the next 5 months (until insurance kicks in) he will have to pay out of pocket for Cardiology visits, Primary Care visits, Pulmonology vistis, Cardiac Rehabilitation training, Sleep Apnea studies, and 4 different Prescriptions. The estimation for his out of pocket costs for all of these visits, and programs and RXs is nearly $14,000.
And that is ignoring the monumental bill that he will be receiving for his hospitalization, including surgery and 2 days in the ICU.
In the end, I am grateful just to have my brother back. I couldn't fathom the hole that he would have left behind if he hadn't received emergency care. I now want to be sure that he can continue receiveing care until his insurance will kick in.
I'm asking, on Steve's behalf, for $5000 toward these bills, which doesn't even cover half of the bills he will have over the next few months. Anything in excess of $5000 will be applied to additional medical expenses, and potentially toward his hospitalization bill.
I am forever grateful to my family and friends for considering this campaign. It is alot to ask for, and I do not take this lightly. I will be supervising this account to ensure that the funds are only used for medical services and medical bills related to this event.
Thank you so much for considering.
Sincerely,
John
Organizer and beneficiary
John Shepski
Organizer
Portland, OR
Steve Shepski
Beneficiary
