Judy Hastings
Removing the financial barrier to critical treatment
Read on to see how Blessing Foundation donors helped Judy Hastings when she needed it most.
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Without carotid artery surgery, Judy Hastings was at high risk for a stroke. But she couldn’t afford the treatment needed prior to surgery that would increase her chance of survival.
The Blessing Foundation paid for the prescribed medications and medical device, which worked well and allowed Judy to safely undergo surgery in January.
Judy Hastings and her husband, David, have been through a lot in recent years.
She’s been hospitalized multiple times since 2011 and almost lost her life when her heart stopped during one trip to the emergency room. Her chronic lung disease has diminished her quality of life and has greatly limited her independence.
Those health issues haven’t just taken a toll on Judy, but on David as well. But he’s always been by her side providing love and support, even though he faces his own health issues and is on disability.
In the middle of it all, the couple has experienced great loss, enduring the deaths of their son, David’s mother, and a dear friend.
Then last March, Judy learned that she was at high risk for stroke because of a blocked carotid artery.
“We’ve kind of been through the ringer,” Judy says. “I try to be positive. But this is not where I want to be at 66.”
Judy Hastings
‘I can’t afford that’
Judy’s primary care physician, Dr. Michael Kirkpatrick of Blessing Physician Services, told her that having a carotid artery that was 99 percent blocked meant a stroke or heart attack was imminent and the event was likely to be so massive that it would be difficult to recover.
Her situation was critical, and she needed carotid artery surgery to remove the blockage and restore blood flow.
Before she was scheduled for surgery, though, she was back in the emergency room with respiratory issues, which led to an appointment with Dr. Nanjappa Somanna, pulmonology specialist at Blessing Physician Services.
Somanna gave her a pulmonary function test.
“I failed it miserably,” she said. “He said, ‘You can’t have surgery.’”
Her lungs were functioning at just 25 percent and her PC02 (partial pressure of carbon dioxide) levels were dangerously high, which meant surgery would not be safe. A potential solution was to use nebulizer medications and a Trilogy ventilator to help improve her lung function.
Somanna said using the Trilogy machine three weeks prior to surgery and three weeks after surgery was vital “to improve her chance of survival.”
But the cost of the respiratory treatment was out of reach for Judy and David, who are on fixed incomes.
“I said, ‘I can’t afford that,’” Judy recalls. While she has Medicare coverage, it would not pay the full amount and the couple couldn’t pay the remainder of the cost.
It was the only thing standing between Judy and lifesaving surgery.
That’s when Dr. Somanna worked with Blessing Health System's Dana Herring, social services case worker, and Laurie Jansen, RN, outpatient care coordinator, who stepped in and contacted the Blessing Foundation.
‘It has turned my situation around’
The Foundation used money in its Heart & Vascular Center Fund to pay for two nebulizer medications, Perforomist and Budesonide, and the two-month Trilogy rental.
“I was thrilled,” Judy says. “I was so overwhelmed and so happy they did that for me. I can’t say enough.”
In just a week’s time, Judy’s lung function improved. Her PC02 level went from 73 to 57 and she felt “100 percent better.”
She could move forward with surgery.
Dr. Tim Smith, DO, general and vascular surgeon, performed the carotid artery procedure on January 13th at Blessing Hospital.
Judy is recovering at home and looks forward to a better future.
“Thank goodness that the Blessing Foundation is there for people like us,” she says. “It was critical for my health to get this done. It has turned my situation around. If it hadn’t been for the Foundation, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”
David was so touched by the generosity and compassion shown to his wife that he hopes to give back by becoming a Blessing volunteer.
“I’m just so grateful,” he said, holding back tears. “It was like a gift from heaven.”
‘A wonderful resource for our patients’
Blessing Health System’s care coordinators, like Dana and Laurie, witness the impact that the Blessing Foundation has on patients like Judy every day.
“We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful resource for our patients,” Laurie said.
In Fiscal 2019, the Heart & Vascular Center Fund provided nearly $11,000 in grants to help with patient needs – from medications and medical supplies to transportation assistance and critical household items.
Donations to the fund also support the purchase of equipment to improve the care of the Health System’s cardiovascular patients.
For example, in 2019 the fund paid for an advanced temperature management system that cools patients after cardiac arrest to preserve brain function and improve chance of long-term survival. It also paid for an AutoPulse resuscitation system for victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
As we celebrate American Heart Month this February, know that 100% of your financial gift to the Blessing Foundation’s Heart & Vascular Center Fund can literally save hearts – and lives.
Judy Hastings is proof of that.
What is the Blessing Foundation?
Since 1983, the Blessing Foundation has been giving back to the community that has given so much to all of us. The charitable foundation distribute grants, scholarships and financial assistance to individuals and families to help them on their healthcare journeys.
For more information about the Blessing Foundation or to discuss a donation or gift, call (217) 223-8400, ext. 4800, or email us at BlessingFoundation@blessinghealth.org
