PHM-Exch> Health care tragedy occurring now

[Emma Lo]

I forward this message on as a plea for action for students and everyone to try to make a difference in the crisis that is happening at Grady hospital in Atlanta, GA, a public hospital that treats the underserved and poor. Though I know the doctor who has sent this, I know few others in the area. Despite this, I plan to try contacting those in charge so as to urge them to take some action, so that these voices do not go unheard and these lives are not simply discarded. Thank you for taking the time to read this. 


Sincerely, 


Emma Lo



Dec. 29, 
2009
 
LETTER FROM THE HUSBAND OF ONE OF THE GRADY DIALYSIS PATIENTS, WHOSE WIFE HAS ONLY A FEW DAYS UNTIL HER DIALYSIS IS 
CUT OFF. HER PHYSICAL SUFFERING WILL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY. HER PSYCHOLOGICAL 
SUFFERING HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS. SHE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE 
TO LIVE. 
 
WE HOPE YOU WILL TAKE ACTION. ONLY IF EVERYBODY TAKES ACTION, WILL WE 
BE ABLE TO SAVE THESE PEOPLE’S LIVES. AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS LETTER ARE WAYS 
THAT YOU CAN TAKE ACTION. WE HOPE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WE ARE A COUNTRY WHERE THE 
POPULACE CAN STOP SUCH TRAVESTIES. 
 
5 DAYS 
LEFT:
 
I am Mr. Abner.I am 51 years old. I was born in 
Savannah, GA.  I worked most of my 
life in maintenance and I’ve had the joy of having three children. One is 14 
years old. I have been on a kidney machine for many years, because of diabetes 
and high blood pressure. I lost my leg from diabetes and have had heart rhythm 
problems.
 
I have been married to a 
wonderful woman since 2004. She came here from Nigeria on a visit nearly 10 
years ago. She has studied nursing in Nigeria, and during her visit she got very 
sick and her kidneys failed. Because of the generosity of my fellow American 
citizens, she was able to continue living by being treated with dialysis a few 
times per week.  You need to be 
hooked to these machines for about four hours 3 times a week to get the poisons 
out of your blood. If she was to return to Nigeria, she would die because the 
dialysis equipment there is very old, the supplies for dialysis are very 
limited, etc. 
 
My wife is a wonderful 
person, who has not only made me happy, but has given tremendously to the 
community in Atlanta. She took all the additional exams and courses to be 
certified as a Registered Nurse in Georgia. She spends her time working as a 
nurse and taking care of sick Americans at their homes, between the times when 
she is on a dialysis machine, 3 times a week. As a nurse she visits patients’ 
homes and takes care of babies on ventilators, provides wound care for people 
who have had amputations, and cares for others who have had serious illnesses. 
Her aim is to help these people so their wounds will not get infected, and so 
these babies can grow up to be healthy Americans. She works for 2 companies. 
These companies are very generous in allowing her to adjust her schedule so that 
when she herself is sick, or is required to change her dialysis schedule, she 
can still keep her job. She gets paid for these services, and she pays Georgia 
state and Federal taxes.
 
My wife has a family back in 
Lagos, Nigeria; a son of 12 years old, and her mother and father. Her father 
worked in a Kodak factory, but is now very sick with high blood pressure and 
diabetes himself.  She has sent 
money to help her father with essential medicines so he can stay alive. 
 
My wife has been taken care 
of very well, through the excellent services of Grady Hospital’s dialysis 
program.  My wife and I have 
attempted to get her a green card, which requires a lot of paperwork.  We have attempted to save the thousands 
of dollars required for lawyer’s fees and other associated fees so that she 
could get her green card.  It was 
very difficult when we wanted to expedite the process, and her father needed to 
have the money to cover his medications. However, while watching the budget very 
closely, we were finally able to get all the paperwork in, and my wife has 
recently received her green card.
 
Now the problem is that as of 
January 3rd, my wife has no place to go for dialysis. We can’t pick 
up and leave to go to another state for dialysis because this is where her work 
is, and this is where I am near by my children. In addition, there are many 
obstacles to finding a place to live, finding friends who can help you when you 
are sick, etc, when you move to another city. If I, myself, was not on dialysis, 
if I had both legs, if I was in better health, I would do more. Right now, while 
my wife is working I am shopping for food, taking care of the house, cleaning 
clothes, and doing the best I can as a husband and father. 
 
January 3rd is the 
deadline. After that date we don’t know what we’re going to do. It will be 
impossible for my wife to go to emergency rooms and wait for hours to be seen 3 
times a week. Many times the overworked emergency room doctors will decide that 
dialysis is not an emergency and she should come back again and try to get 
dialysis later. Obviously, it would be difficult for her to work anymore, and 
that is sad because she is helping a lot of other people and she’s earning money 
to help her family and help us survive. 
 
There are many wonderful 
people in America. I am just hoping that the large dialysis companies, the 
politicians, the religious leaders, and the administrative people at Grady 
Hospital will all step up to the plate and help my wife. I am so scared. She is 
so scared. Her patients who she takes care of are so scared for her.  Even in Nigeria, her mother and father 
are afraid.
 
My wife and I are also very 
concerned about the other 29 Grady dialysis patients who will have no place to 
go. As an American citizen, I am proud of Atlanta, and I feel in my heart that 
nobody will turn and say “Let somebody else solve the problem,” but rather they 
will say “This is a way I can help.”
 
Thank 
you.
 
ACTION YOU CAN TAKE:
 
	1. FORWARD THIS TO EVERYBODY YOU 
KNOW.
 
	1. VISIT THE WEBSITE www.dialysiscrisis.webs.com
 
	1. DONATE MONEY AT THE WEBSITE
 
	1. SPEAK WITH THE GA STATE GOVERNOR, LEGISLATORS, AND ATLANTA CITY /  METROPOLITAN COUNTY POLITICIANS AND ADVOCATE FOR THE  PATIENTS
 
	1. SPEAK TO NEPHROLOGISTS AND ADVOCATE FOR THE  PATIENTS
 
	1. CALL THE CEOS AND OTHER EXECUTIVES OF HOSPITALS AND COMPANIES THAT RUN  DIALYSIS CENTERS IN ATLANTA & SURROUNDING AREAS AND ASK IF THEY WILL SAVE  THE LIFE OF ONE OF THESE 30 PEOPLE. 
 
	1. CONTACT RELIGIOUS LEADERS TO MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS AT THEIR SERVICES AND  THROUGH THEIR NETWORKS ABOUT THE NEED FOR THEIR CONGREGATION TO GET  INVOLVED.
 
	1. CONTACT BOARD MEMBERS OF GRADY HOSPITAL AND HIGH LEVEL ADMINISTRATORS  AND ASK THEM TO POSTPONE THE TERMINATION OF DIALYSIS BY EITHER CONVINCING THE  COMPANY TO PROVIDE THE DIALYSIS FOR FREE OR BY CONTRIBUTING MONEY TOWARD THE  DIALYSIS UNTIL A SATISFACTORY SOLUTION IS ARRIVED  AT.
 
	1. WRITE STORIES OR PRODUCE VIDEOS THAT HIGHLIGHT THE REAL STORIES OF  THESE PEOPLE AND WHAT THEY ARE BEING PUT THROUGH. GIVE A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE  STANDPOINT OF POOR ILL PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE REAL CHOICES BECAUSE OF THEIR  CIRCUMSTANCES.
 
	1. CONTACT BLOGGERS, NEWSPAPER EDITORS, TELEVISION NEWSROOMS, NATIONAL AND  INTERNATIONAL MEDIA, ETC. AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO COVER THIS  STORY.
 
	1. PARTICIPATE IN LEGAL ACTION TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT OTHER HUMANS IN OUR  COUNTRY WILL NEVER AFTER BE PUT THROUGH THIS  TRAUMA.
 
	1. ADVOCATE THAT ALL PEOPLE WHO DEVELOP KIDNEY FAILURE IN GEORGIA ARE  TREATED WITH THE SAME RESPECT AND CARING AS THEY ARE TREATED IN MANY OTHER  STATES IN THIS COUNTRY.
 
	1. REMIND OTHERS THAT “ILLEGAL ALIEN” IS A DERROGATORY AND MISLEADING TERM  USED TO PUT MONETIZATION ABOVE HUMANIZATION. THESE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE  LABELED BY THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW THEM AND THEIR PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. NONE  OF THESE PEOPLE DEVELOPED KIDNEY DISEASE AND CLIMBED OVER A FENCE TO COME TO  THE UNITED STATES. MOST OF THESE PEOPLE WORKED HARD IN THIS COUNTRY AT VERY  LOW WAGES AND NO HEALTH COVERAGE.
 
	1. SPREAD THE WORD THAT WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY PLACE IN AMERICA WHERE A  SIMILAR SITUATION AS WITH THE GRADY DIALYSIS CENTER CRISIS HAS  OCCURRED.
 
 
THANK YOU.
 
NEIL SHULMAN MD


      
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