Pedro first came to OLE Health in 2020 after losing a job with a vineyard he’d been with for 17 years. When he lost his job, he also lost his medical insurance. As a diabetic with high blood pressure, forgoing medical care was not an option.
Pedro was able to find another job but didn’t receive insurance through his new employer. Eventually, the financial stress and worry about taking care of his family and paying his mortgage began to take a toll.
In 2021, at age 46, Pedro had a stroke.
“I went to work, and out of nowhere, I started losing my
speaking ability. After I left work, my arm began getting numb, and my leg
started to go numb as well,” he said.
Pedro wanted to sleep it off, but his wife and son insisted
he go to the hospital. Even though the doctors told him he had come in just in
time, he spent 11 days in the hospital and faced a difficult recovery. He
couldn’t use his arms to feed himself, let alone work in the vineyards. He
needed physical therapy but couldn’t get it without insurance.
Thankfully, his care team at OLE Health, led by Denisse Maldonado,
FNP, was with him every step of the way. Denisse helped him enroll in
disability benefits, so he could pay his bills while he recovered. She also
showed him exercises he could do to regain mobility in his hands.
“Denise really helped me with therapy. It wasn’t her duty,
but she really helped me. She went above and beyond,” he said.
Denisse helped connect Pedro to other services within OLE
Health. Our patient services team found health coverage for him so he could get
physical therapy and other needed treatments for his recovery. And a member of
our pharmacy team enrolled him in a program that would pay for medication to
control his diabetes, bringing his cost to $0.
Today, Pedro has the medications he needs, his blood
pressure is under control, and he is back at work. He feels lucky to have found
OLE Health, and he gets emotional when he talks about Denisse and the team here
that supports him.
“After the stroke, I didn’t have insurance, and I really
didn’t know what I was going to do. I’m very thankful for all that OLE Health
has done for me. Thank you so much.”
