A Child in Need!

Lets face life is not fair. Obstacles must be overcome, difficulties must be met and successes received but every once in a while we all need a helping hand. Pride in a lot of cases prevents people from reaching out and asking for help. In the case of my coworker Leslie Brown she has no choice but to ask for help, her daughters health and possibly her life depends on it.

Working in an open office you overhear many phone conversations some you want to hear and others you would rather not. In the case of Leslie Brown I try to ignore her telephone conversations but being that we share office space it is very difficult. Today I overheard a conversation and it made feel sympathy and anger. She was talking to a hospital's billing department about paying on her daughter's bill. She was trying to make payment arrangements with them to pay in monthly installments and they would not accept her payment only telling her it was not enough and there was nothing they could do.

Leslie's story is one of courage and has been told, as she puts it, a million times. She is a single mother of two children, Micha and Bailey. She receives no child support and no government aid. She is very educated, though has only an associates to this point. Her education comes more from life experiences. Her daughter Bailey was born with a heart condition and every year she must undergo test that are very costly. Our employer does not provide group medical insurance stating that the cost is too much to shoulder. Instead, at the beginning of 2008, the employer will provide $200 for medical insurance reimbursement. This does not help Leslie because if she obtains her own insurance Bailey will not be covered due to her condition being preexisting. Only group coverage will cover preexisting conditions. Leslie worked hard in obtaining coverage for her daughter through the Texas Risk Pool but alas coverage is far too expensive even through them. Her total payments would be $600 plus the cost of deductibles and co-payments.

So what does she need? Help and a solution to this annual problem. She wants a cure for her daughter. She wants a way to go to work and not feel the burden of undue stress knowing her daughter is taken care of. She wants what all of us want, a better life for her children. Political conjecture and health care reform are great topics of conversation but what Ms. Brown needs is an answer now. If any of you can help in anyway then please contact me via e-mail with any words of advice or suggestions or just leave a comment. Thank you and God Bless!