Client Stories
Getting Sick Is Not in Budget
A client’s husband lost his job along with medical insurance. They live on a tight budget that does not allow for illness. A prescription medicine that cost $80 per month is too much for them. The Clinic is helping them get the medicine at a lower cost by working directly with a pharmaceutical company.
Blood Costs too Much
A client had been losing significant amounts of blood and was told to go immediately to an emergency room for a transfusion. Weighing the cost of a visit to an ER room, she decided not to go. The physician convinced her that she had to go immediately.
Gabriel wrote
"I want to say: THANK YOU very much to all the volunteers working at the Good Samaritan! everybody is so nice there. Also I want to thank Dr. Glinski for helping me with my eye surgery. without his help I wouldn't have been able to afford to pay full price somewhere else! the whole staff at his clinic is also VERY nice and friendly; I felt very comfortable with all of them especially with Crystal, she is soooo nice and fun. thanks to Dr. Powell, my surgeon. James his assistant and Dr. Trang the anesthesiologist. Thank you Good Sam!"
I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the Clinic
That is what we were told by a man coming for his health records as he proudly told us that he had finally gotten on Medicaid.
Thank you to the doctors and staff at GS. Thank you for caring for me, helping me with all my health problems. You are a great blessing. Good bless all of you. Thank you. --BL
Thanks. I was a patient there today, and was served by the most professional and caring people I have come across in a long time. Thank you for what you do.
Health Care too Expensive
A mom came in with her daughter for a well-baby checkup. She wanted to know if her baby was developing, as she should. The dad in the family worked at a university, but health insurance was too expensive to add his wife and daughter.
Afraid to Get Health Care
A woman had a mass in her breast that had grown to a large size, but she was afraid to get health care. A free biopsy showed the mass to be non-malignant.
Health Care not Available
A young man had just graduated from college, but could not find a job. He received a physical exam so that he could apply as a volunteer position to mentor young boys in a summer camp.
“Ruth” Gets Free Emergency Health Care while Changing the Lives of Her Caregivers
When we opened the Good Samaritan Health Clinic of Edmond in February of 2009, little did we know it would be the beginning of a life-changing experience for many of us. A patient came in that day, a young mother, whom we will call Ruth. She had pain in her side and felt bloated. She, like all of our patients, was part of the thousands in the Edmond area without health insurance.
Ruth was seen by one of our medical providers, who thought that some diagnostic tests were in order to delineate what the problem might be. An ultrasound and some blood work were ordered.
The clinic coordinator got in touch with a tertiary care center that could do an ultrasound for Ruth. Because of their great concern for Ruth, the clinic coordinator and a translator went to the imaging clinic with her.
After the ultrasound, the technician requested that they contact the doctor from the clinic who had done the original referral to ask for a CT scan. What the coordinator, translator and Ruth had expected to be a routine ultrasound with perhaps kidney stones, turned into an all-day affair getting CT scanning done too.
Leaving the clinic that day was a relief, knowing that Ruth was on her way to getting the care she needed, but also frightening, as no one at that point knew what was ahead for Ruth.
The next day the lab results were astonishing. Ruth, who was extremely petite, had a very large ovarian cyst. The coordinator immediately contacted the doctors in charge of the patient and the clinic. Something needed to be done immediately.
Calls were made, calls returned, more calls made. Finally the medical director found an OB-GYN to see Ruth. The next couple of days we played the waiting game. Finally the day came to see the OB-GYN. The coordinator picked up Ruth and met the translator at the OB-GYN's office. During the entire drive to the office, Ruth could not sit still; the sitting position caused her more pain than she could stand.
The OB-GYN gave Ruth the news that she had a very large ovarian cyst that was most likely NOT benign. The hearts of everyone involved in this case from the beginning collectively wept at that point. Here is this young mother, starting her family out, with her husband and little daughter, but now facing the grim diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
The OB-GYN, being compassionate as all who volunteer at the Good Samaritan Health Clinic, said that Ruth needed surgery, NOW rather than later. While on one hand that is scary, on the other hand, that was a Godsend as now there would be less red tape to cut to get Ruth where she needed to be: on the mend at home with her loving family.
Over the weekend Ruth's pain increased, so much so that she came to the clinic to get pain medicine. At this point she could not sit or walk very well because of all of the pressure from this extremely large cyst intruding on her petite frame.
Monday we got the call that Ruth was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. More calls were made to set up the anesthesiologist for a charity case, to set up the hospital, and to inform all of the medical providers who were involved in the case so far.
Wednesday came and Ruth and her husband, along with the interpreter went to the hospital. Many of the clinic volunteers and their friends prayed for her.
Ruth made it through surgery with flying colors and they removed the cyst, without any residual cells in the surrounding tissue. Ruth even received the news from her OB-GYN that in the future, should the pathology results look good, she may continue to have children, which meant the world to Ruth.
Ruth’s cyst was found to be "pre-cancerous," but with no cancer. Further testing will assure that there are no other problems. The cyst weighed around 10 pounds.
A week later, Ruth returned to the clinic to express her thanks through hugs and a food basket as we all swallowed with difficulty. She also wanted to invite all the clinic volunteers to her house for dinner.
Ruth expressed to us through the interpreter that from her very first visit to the Good Samaritan Health Clinic, she felt welcomed, warm, and invited. We seek to serve like Jesus served, and I think we are as close as we can get being mere humans.
If Ruth is the only patient of this magnitude that we serve for the entirety of the clinic's life, it will be worth all of the hours put in planning, forming, and running the clinic.