As a physician, I have several stories that I can share regarding my concerns of how our health care system have failed many of my patients as well as myself and others who work as health care professionals.

However, one particular story that stands out in my mind is one of which I acquired a patient who was admitted through the emergency room (E.R.) at a north Texas hospital for abdominal pain.

This kind single lady in her 40's worked every day as a truck driver, but could not afford health insurance because of its enormous cost.  However, on one particular night, she had no choice but to go to the E.R. because of excruciating and unrelenting abdominal pain.

After having several tests, of which she could not afford to pay, a large mass was identified within her abdomen and pelvis. Because of the extension of the mass into her pelvic, I (an OB/GYN) was contacted to evaluate her. When I saw this pleasant lady, her pain had resolved because of the pain medication that she was given prior to my arrival.

I informed her of the significance of the large mass, and the need for her to be seen by a specialist (gynecological oncologist) inorder for it to be surgically removed as soon as possible in an appropriate hospital facility.  However, because her pain had resolved, her status changed from one of urgency to one that could be managed as an out-patient.

As an outpatient, she was very compliant and did everything that was asked of her.  However, it was very difficult to obtain financial assistance for her high risk medical condition.  She did not qualify for medicaid because of her income, but she did not have enough income or savings to pay for her E.R. expenses; inaddition to, the costs of a specialist and surgery.

Several weeks and months passed by as I wrote letters and made telephone calls on her behalf to services and medical facilities in and out of the area that could help her.  However, we received rejection after rejection.  Many of which declined to help because of her "county" of residence.

As time continued to pass by, her mass continued to get larger, and as it grew, it caused more abdominal pain.  My patient looked as if she was " 9 months pregnant"!She had no choice but to present to the E.R. when her pain was unbearable to receive pain medication inorder to function. 

We were both concerned that the worst would occur one day...she may not make it to the E.R.,she may not leave the E.R. alive or if she has cancer, too much time would have passed to save her life.  Therefore, she quit her job to qualify for medicaid.  This meant that she would have no income to pay her bills and daily living expenses, etc.

During this time, I asked her to return to one particular facility to see if someone would have a change of heart.  I wrote another letter and gave it to her to take with her as she, again, requested financial assistance.

During this particular visit, the woman of whom my patient spoke with did have compassion and sympathy.  When she realized that my patient's large abdomen was not the result of pregnancy, she quickly arranged for her to have financial assistance! This was truly a blessing!

I was notified that I could schedule an appointment with a specialist. This was promptly arranged and subsequently, a date was scheduled for surgery.

My patient had a successful surgical procedure of which the mass was found to be non-cancerous, and she is doing well!

This is a situation that fortunately had a happy ending because persistence paid-off. However, this situation could have ended in stragedy, as so many others do, because of all of the barriers to over come with our current health care system.

-Dr. Lori Gore-Green
OB/GYN
Denton, Texas