CMM Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society Member S (North Carolina)
"아무것도 염려하지 말고 다만 모든 일에 기도와 간구로,너희 구할 것을 감사함으로 하나님께 아뢰라 그리하면 모든 지각에 뛰어난 하나님의 평강이 그리스도 예수 안에서 너희 마음과 생각을 지키시리라"(빌립보서 4:6-7).
Hello. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the CMM Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society and to everyone who has participated in the medical expense sharing ministry. I am so overwhelmed with gratitude that I find it difficult to put my feelings into words—I’m actually a bit nervous just trying to write this. As his wife, I am writing this on behalf of my husband, who received medical expense assistance.
Amid the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic, with no end in sight, during the last week of September 2021, my husband suffered from unexplained abdominal pain for several days. Thinking it was just a simple stomachache, he tried to tough it out by taking painkillers, but the pain persisted.
I sensed something was wrong with my body and hurried to an urgent care center near my home. The doctor suspected appendicitis and advised me to go to the emergency room immediately for a CT scan; as expected, the results confirmed it was appendicitis. Thinking I had successfully undergone the appendectomy and just needed to recover, I waited to be discharged, and finally, the day of my discharge arrived.
However, the doctor said he had something very important to tell us and showed my husband and me the CT scan results from the emergency room. He explained that a stone had been found in his left kidney, which was much more swollen than his right kidney and was also very large. Seeing just how large the stone was and how the lower part of his left kidney was sagging, my husband and I were both shocked. Despite having a large stone in his kidney, my husband had been living his life without feeling any symptoms at all. The doctor warned that if we didn’t rush to have the stone removed, his right kidney could also deteriorate, and he could end up losing both kidneys.
After recovering somewhat from my appendectomy, I saw a urologist, who told me that the sooner I had surgery to remove the kidney stones, the better the outcome would be. Before the surgery, I underwent a procedure to insert a tube through a small incision in my left back (near the kidney) to drain the fluid that had accumulated in the kidney and help maintain its health. I had to live with a urine bag connected to the tube for two months leading up to the surgery. After two months, I underwent the kidney stone removal surgery. The attending physician told me the surgery went well and that I just needed to focus on a smooth recovery, so I was discharged from the hospital.
A month after the surgery, I visited the hospital for a follow-up and underwent an ultrasound. Once again, I felt anxious when the doctor told me that a CT scan was needed for a more detailed examination because there seemed to be a problem. The scan revealed that two very small stones remained in my left kidney, and the doctor explained that the kidney was smaller than normal, making another surgery unavoidable. I felt an indescribable sense of frustration. After undergoing my second kidney stone removal surgery, it wasn’t until March 22, 2022, when I was told that this surgery had been successful, that I was finally able to ease my worries about my health a little.
My relief was short-lived, however, as I began to worry about the medical bills that had accumulated over the past four months—during which my husband underwent three surgeries and one procedure. Amid the confusion of not knowing where to start or what to do, the CMM Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society provided my husband and me with sincere support from start to finish. We were informed that if we submitted the medical expense application and supporting documents to the CMM Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society, we would receive financial assistance for our medical expenses—within the scope of their coverage—following a review.
I was unfamiliar with the medical billing paperwork. Even after hearing explanations about the required documents and procedures, I couldn’t understand what they meant, and I just felt increasingly anxious. However, even though I asked the same questions over and over again, the staff always responded kindly, and I found great comfort in the warmth of their hearts that came through over the phone. Thanks to the help of CMM Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society and its members, my husband was able to receive full coverage for his medical expenses. Also, thanks to everyone’s prayers, my husband has recovered his health and has now returned to his daily life, living it to the fullest.
When I think about how we could have possibly managed such a large hospital bill if it weren’t for the medical expense-sharing ministry of the CMM Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society, I still feel a sense of vertigo. I give thanks and praise to God, who had mercy on us and provided for us. Finally, I extend my deepest gratitude to the members who shared in this burden with us and to the CMM Christian Medical Mutual Aid Society.
Source: Christian Journal (https://www.kcjlogos.org)