To Whom it May Concern:
I thank God for the Parish Nurse Programs, President Bush's Faith Based Initiative Programs, Walmart, and Champaign County Christian Health Center.
Here's why--
In 1983, life as I knew it (and as most people would know it) was over for me. My wife had a paranormal meltdown (Western science classify her as an untreated, paranoid, schizophrenic.) Work on my Doctorate of Engineering Internship program with McDonnell Douglas Automation Company in Saint Louis came to an abrupt end as I spent the next 5 years at home trying to keep my wife calm.
In 1988, she was calm enough so she would allow herself to be taken to a hospital. Having no insurance, we got shuttled off to the Missouri State Mental Hospital of Saint Louis, where the admitting psychiatrist asked 2 questions: 1) was she homicidal? No. 2) was she suicidal? No.
Then we were sent away because of funding cuts. No state money was available for outpatient treatment, let alone hospital confinement.
We then left Saint Louis and returned to Champaign, IL.
This past fall of 2008, the parish nurses at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church said my blood pressure was too high to go any longer without medical treatment. I am the sole support and only contact person my wife has. Dying on her is not an option.
So I went to the Illinois Department of Human Services (IL DHS) and filled out the forms asking for medical assistance only for myself. (My wife will still not seek medical treatment for herself. "All doctors are quacks" is her belief. Also, a lawyer friend tells me forcing her against her will to seek medical attention is kidnapping, still frowned up in this country. And that assumes I have the finances to pay for the treatment, which I don't as I'm still one of the medically uninsured in this country.)
IL DHS said my application was incomplete because I didn't apply for disability benefits for my wife who I stated is not working. (She's never worked a day in her life and is totally incapable of doing so.)
I reiterated to IL DHS I was only seeking medical assistance for myself, no benefits of any kind for my wife and no food stamps.
My application was then declined with no reason given. I suspect I had three strikes against me: white, male, and no children in the household.
Next I tried the Francis Nelson Clinic, followed their procedure of telephoning in with a description of my medical condition, and that someone would call me back. From September 2008 to January 2009, I have had no followup contact from the Francis Nelson Clinic.
I also called the Champaign County Christian Health Center (CCCHC) at that time and was admitted as a new patient the next day (this was in September 2008). Besides the high blood pressure, I was also found to be diabetic with extremely high blood sugar levels. Diagnosis and diet change suggestions from CCCHC with prescriptions filled at Walmart has brought down my blood sugar levels significantly. I'm working on getting the blood pressure down, but progress is not as rapid as with the blood sugar levels. There is still a tremendous amount of stress in my life that I can't control due to my wife's condition.
But with the prayers (yes Virginia, there really is a God) and the medical attention provided by CCCHC, I'm not as worried about dying prematurely and having my wife become another 'crazy' homeless person.
I appear to be one of those people who "fall through the cracks" of the healthcare system in this country. It's organizations like CCCHC who are the only institutions there to catch people like me. I learned a long time ago (1988), that you can't rely on the states or federal governments to help you when you hit the wall.
