A Friend in Need!
Donation protected
A dear friend of mine has recently fallen on the worst of times medically and financially and needs help! Helen Fuld Pietschmann, an absolutely wonderful human being, has dealt with severe medical issues since I have known her. She is 52 years old and suffers from a number of chronic and severe health conditions and has since she was 27 years old. Most of her medical conditions are due to an auto immune disease that include but are not limited to epilepsy, transverse myelitis (which is on the multiple sclerosis spectrum, but affects the spine instead of the brain.), hypothyroidism, and a very serious immune deficiency.
Helen feels very fortunate to have 2 insurance companies, Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL. In this case, however, the two insurance companies fought over who was responsible for the bills, and due to a loop, Helen is ultimately responsible.
In addition, Helen recently had an emergency surgery for an incarcerated hernia and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor informed her that if she had not gotten there when she did she wouldn’t have made it beyond 24 hours. Neither of her insurances will cover the cost of the surgery.
This is from a recent email I received from Helen:
“ you can imagine, I take a lot of medications unfortunately, which cost me about $2,500 a year out of pocket after deductible. One of those medications is warfarin a blood thinner. As a result, since I am primarily home bound I receive weekly home health care visits to check my blood thinner levels since if it is too thin I could bleed to death or if it is too thick I could die from a serious blood clot because I have had some serious clots in the past. I also receive infusions from the home healthcare agency every three weeks (a 4 hour procedure) for my immune deficiency. My total home health care bills are approximately $6000 a month since the infusion I require is about $5000 (I refer to it as liquid gold!) and the other expenses are around $1000.
I also have three medical implants - I like to jokingly referred to myself as the bionic woman but let's face it it is really no joke.
First, I have an "implanted intrathecal pain pump" in the lower right hand quadrant of my stomach which constantly delivers medication through my spine directly to my legs for the nerve pain I suffer due to my transverse myelitis. This pump contains three different medications including morphine. It is a compounded medication from Florida which as you can imagine is very expensive. The pump is refilled every three months, again at great expense!
It was implanted by the university of Chicago and I am forever grateful to them for lowering my constant pain from a level eight or nine to a more comfortable and manageable four.
Second, I have a "Vagus Nerve Stimulator" (VNS) which is implanted on the left side of my neck and runs from my vagus nerve to my brain and delivers small electrical impulses on a timed basis to help control my seizures along with the medications I take for them.
Finally, in terms of implants I also have a "Medaport" which is implanted under my right subclavian and is used for blood draws and for those infusions I need every three weeks. Needless to say maybe, my veins are completely shot after 25 years of abuse!
To add to the stress of being chronically ill, I have just been informed that those 'liquid gold infusions' and the rest of my home healthcare will not be covered from September 2015 through January 2016 due to a loophole in the system which of course I was never informed
of. "
No one should have to go through all of that…
Helen's loving husband Don who is 69, works every hour he can to provide and to help with all of Helens medical expenses, Because of Dons age, he is finding it an impossible task to find any additional work to help cover the cost. For a long time, they could manage, but with their out of pocket medical expenses being over 6,000 a month, even after downsizing on everything and moving out of their current home, it isn’t enough. Their credit has been destroyed by bills that insurance refuses to pay. I am hoping that with our help, Helen and Don will be able to pay off some of their medical bills and Helen can focus on what is really important, taking care of herself and her health. I am praying for some relief for my friend who has endured more pain and suffering than anyone ever should. My hope is that if anyone can, they will donate, if they cannot donate, they will share her story, and if both aren’t something that can be done for whatever reason, that you might pray for my friend Helen. Above anything and everything, she needs our prayers, love and support.
Helen feels very fortunate to have 2 insurance companies, Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL. In this case, however, the two insurance companies fought over who was responsible for the bills, and due to a loop, Helen is ultimately responsible.
In addition, Helen recently had an emergency surgery for an incarcerated hernia and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor informed her that if she had not gotten there when she did she wouldn’t have made it beyond 24 hours. Neither of her insurances will cover the cost of the surgery.
This is from a recent email I received from Helen:
“ you can imagine, I take a lot of medications unfortunately, which cost me about $2,500 a year out of pocket after deductible. One of those medications is warfarin a blood thinner. As a result, since I am primarily home bound I receive weekly home health care visits to check my blood thinner levels since if it is too thin I could bleed to death or if it is too thick I could die from a serious blood clot because I have had some serious clots in the past. I also receive infusions from the home healthcare agency every three weeks (a 4 hour procedure) for my immune deficiency. My total home health care bills are approximately $6000 a month since the infusion I require is about $5000 (I refer to it as liquid gold!) and the other expenses are around $1000.
I also have three medical implants - I like to jokingly referred to myself as the bionic woman but let's face it it is really no joke.
First, I have an "implanted intrathecal pain pump" in the lower right hand quadrant of my stomach which constantly delivers medication through my spine directly to my legs for the nerve pain I suffer due to my transverse myelitis. This pump contains three different medications including morphine. It is a compounded medication from Florida which as you can imagine is very expensive. The pump is refilled every three months, again at great expense!
It was implanted by the university of Chicago and I am forever grateful to them for lowering my constant pain from a level eight or nine to a more comfortable and manageable four.
Second, I have a "Vagus Nerve Stimulator" (VNS) which is implanted on the left side of my neck and runs from my vagus nerve to my brain and delivers small electrical impulses on a timed basis to help control my seizures along with the medications I take for them.
Finally, in terms of implants I also have a "Medaport" which is implanted under my right subclavian and is used for blood draws and for those infusions I need every three weeks. Needless to say maybe, my veins are completely shot after 25 years of abuse!
To add to the stress of being chronically ill, I have just been informed that those 'liquid gold infusions' and the rest of my home healthcare will not be covered from September 2015 through January 2016 due to a loophole in the system which of course I was never informed
of. "
No one should have to go through all of that…
Helen's loving husband Don who is 69, works every hour he can to provide and to help with all of Helens medical expenses, Because of Dons age, he is finding it an impossible task to find any additional work to help cover the cost. For a long time, they could manage, but with their out of pocket medical expenses being over 6,000 a month, even after downsizing on everything and moving out of their current home, it isn’t enough. Their credit has been destroyed by bills that insurance refuses to pay. I am hoping that with our help, Helen and Don will be able to pay off some of their medical bills and Helen can focus on what is really important, taking care of herself and her health. I am praying for some relief for my friend who has endured more pain and suffering than anyone ever should. My hope is that if anyone can, they will donate, if they cannot donate, they will share her story, and if both aren’t something that can be done for whatever reason, that you might pray for my friend Helen. Above anything and everything, she needs our prayers, love and support.
Organizer and beneficiary
Laura Naleck
Organizer
Lake in the Hills, IL
Helen Fuld
Beneficiary