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Medical crisis sends struggling family into financial tailspin

Editor's note: The Time is Now to Help was founded by a local businessman who knew extreme poverty as a child. With the help of donations from the community, The Time is Now is able to help local residents in need.

Dear W.C., Editor’s note: The Time is Now to Help was founded by a local businessman who knew extreme poverty as a child. With the help of donations from the community, The Time is Now is able to help local residents in need.

Dear W.C.,

I am trying to get through some of the worst weeks of my life.

My husband had a routine surgery several weeks ago. He developed an aggressive infection that has nearly taken his life.

He had to have further surgery to remove the infection and this has become much more complicated than we ever thought possible. He has a long recovery and rehabilitation ahead of him. He is lucky to be alive.

I have had to drive our old car to the city every day to be with him. We have two young children whom I need to be home for at night. During the day, my mother has been watching them so they don’t see their dad in the hospital so sick.

We were having financial problems before this surgery, but my husband could not put off the surgery any longer. He is self-employed. We are behind in our utilities and I really need help with the gas costs from the daily drive into the city.

My parents are in no condition to help any further than child care. They go month to month barely making ends meet. I work part time but had to give that up for now to care for my husband.

My husband had no trouble supporting his family by running his own business — until this recession hit. Now that he physically can’t do the work he was doing, and we don’t know if he ever will be able to again, we are really worried.

I tell him to not stress himself and worry because it won’t help him to heal and gain his strength back. I try to not worry in front of him but I am more scared than I have ever been.

Scared, devoted wife

Dear readers,

This letter is yet another reason why we need good health care reform in our country. Many families become homeless due to an illness and not having health insurance. I receive many letters each week from families struggling due to an illness and health care expenses. There are no easy answers, but it is a major cause of poverty that needs to be addressed.

This devoted wife was tirelessly caring for her husband and her family while he was recovering from a life-threatening infection. She had to keep her husband positive, giving him loving care to keep him fighting back and wanting to live. It will be a long road of rehab and rest.

This will put all his business plans on hold for much longer than they had planned. His job involves physical labor, and he will be unable to do that work for quite a while. Until he is home and recovering, his wife will be unable to work full time. She has been able to resume her part time job just to keep food on the table. They have fallen behind on their rent and utilities. She has applied for assistance but found there are long waiting lists everywhere she turns.

The Time Is Now to Help was able to assist her with gas vouchers for her daily drives to the hospital, utility assistance and rent. We also reminded her about the W.C. Food Pantry. She had heard about it but had not been there yet. She promised to go there. Their cabinets and refrigerator were almost empty. Her mother had been helping with food, but she did not have the income to be helping like that for long.

When we last spoke, her husband had completed his second surgery. He was home and going for regular rehabilitation. He was already looking forward to going back to work. He said his wife’s devotion and love got him through it all.

Prior to the illness, they were just making it each month. The recession had taken its toll on them. To save money, the family, including the grandparents, stretched their meals to last several days. The father struggled to work every day with an old injury that required a surgical repair.

When he became ill after the surgery, they fell farther and farther into poverty. The father wanted to give up but the wife came to the hospital armed with a photo of their two children. Her love and persistence restored in him the fight for his life. The infection caught in the hospital was extremely serious. The doctors and nurses several times tried to prepare her for the worst.

The financial problems at home became so bad she lived with the constant fear of homelessness and utilities being disconnected. The wife finally told her husband everything she was worrying about while he was in the hospital. She told him how The Time Is Now to Help stepped in and offered a helping hand when she needed it most.

He was proud of her for her strength during his long illness and her love saw him though. The wife was happy to report she had finally gotten a full-time job. This will help them pay the bills until her husband returns to work.

Thank you for caring and sharing.

Health and happiness, God Bless Everyone, W.C.

Dorothy Heffernan, ITW Foundation, Paper Dolls, Flitcroft Septic Systems, CB3 Financial Group, David and Shirley Heigl, June Davidsen, Michael Glass, Judy Dishneau, Darrylin Blackburn, Gerald and Marilyn Wilkin, Tom and Joyce Roche, Johanna Sterken, Dan and Regina Mehring, Patti Wagon Ice Cream, Marilyn Hauser, Martin O’Brien, Drescher Family Charitable Foundation, W.C. Family Resource Center/Food Pantry volunteers, Michael and Sue Borden, Dick and Jean Honeyager, all of you who support The Time Is Now to Help donation boxes and the businesses that allow our donation boxes.

Anyone who would like a Time Is Now donation box in your business, please call (262)249-7000.