Patient Story – B – Club
I received a phone message on a Friday morning and it is clear from the message that the women was fighting back tears and trying her best to relay the circumstances she found herself in without letting down her defenses so she can get the words out. She was a young breast cancer patient who we referred for assistance to several agencies who she thought were going to be able to help her but it turns out they will not be able to provide assistance after all. The patient woke up to her phone service already being shut off and her electricity and utilities were scheduled to be shut off by the close of that business day – Friday. She left me a phone number where I could reach her that was the phone number of a friend whose phone she was borrowing. In checking with the rest of the team the patient had been referred to us after the other agencies were not able to help so we had just received a copy of her bills. Having the bills gave us the information and some of the particulars we needed in order to help her. I tried to call the patient but the phone line was continually busy however we proceeded to make the necessary calls to the City of Austin as well as the phone service to let them know we could make the payments and not to disconnect her services. The City of Austin accepted our pledge and did not shut off her services and the phone service was reinstated after our pledge. Both bills were expedited for payment. When I got a hold of the patient and told her that we would be able to help her and had already contacted the vendors she was so relieved that she was brought to tears. She was franticly calling everyone she could think of who could possibly help and was reaching all dead ends. She expressed to me how difficult it was to find herself in this position as she has always been able to work and support herself and be independent. She was toward the end of her chemotherapy and had become very ill and could not work and being at work would have been detrimental to her medical condition. She expressed to me that it was humiliating to be in this position and that worrying about her bills was eating her up and was worse then having to deal with the cancer and the chemotherapy. Most of all she expressed how affirming it was to know that someone cared enough to actually help her and that she would use that gratitude in the future to help someone else in need once she got back on her feet.
