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Wednesday, September 6, 2006

wanna pay for a stem cell transplant?

remember my idea of helping more people? well, pfffbbbbtttt to that! here i am thinking that i’m doing all this good by going to buy a few caps for a woman that our Sunday School class helps and then i find out what a teensy, tiny dent it really is that i’m making. you see she’s going into the hospital to have a few tests done and she needed a few items. she’s not supposed to drive because she takes daily chemo for whatever type of blood cancer that she has. she’s also on Medicare and lives alone with no family nearby. she relies on our class for her groceries and laundry among other things. she’s waiting for a stem cell transplant.

anyway, i volunteered to get the sleep caps to catch her hair at night and then when we got to class on Sunday i heard the sad update. apparently, Medicare denied covering her stem cell transplant. the reason had something to do with the fact that a stem cell transplant is such a challenging procedure to go through that you need a full-time caregiver for at least two weeks after it. plus you have to go to the hospital and get daily shots in preparation, etc. because this lady has no family nearby and lives alone, the claim was denied. now she's thinking about not even going through with it at all because she really doesn't have a lot of choice. the class will probably write a letter offering to support her and be her "family" and she is going to keep persuing ways to get Medicare to pay, but the whole ordeal is sending her on an emotional rollercoaster. and i thought i was all sweet and smart by picking up a few hair loss caps. turns out she needs more than that so if you think of her send up a little prayer.

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