“You can’t know what it means to a person who has no hope of treatment and then has it. And has it in a dignified way.” --Carl Friedman
Carl Friedman, a 64-year-old self-employed painter, and his wife Catherine came to Fort Wayne from Maine in 2002 so they could be closer to her mother. Within a year, their comfortable, modest life was turned completely upside down. Or as Carl puts it: “Then the sickness. Then the monkey wrench in the works.”
And no insurance to cover costs. Carl had lived his entire life without health insurance because he couldn’t afford it. He and his wife of 15 years had been content living a simple life and getting by living within their means.
But in 2003, Carl suffered a stroke, putting him out of work for a lengthy period and exacting a strain on the couple’s finances. Credit card and health debts rose, and two years later Carl suffered the first of two heart attacks. Once again, he was unable to work and in a deep hole financially, even with his wife’s income.
“You’re down, you’re blue,” he says. “You know, just the bad feelings of being sick, which everybody experiences. I don’t care how much money you got.”
Enter a bright light. The United Way-supported Neighborhood Health Clinics. Through a sliding fee scale, Carl was able to get some of his medical needs met. And the care, he says, was top-notch.
“You can’t know what it means to a person who has no hope of treatment and then has it,” he says. “And has it in a dignified way. Neighborhood Health Clinics provided us with the hope that was missing.” Today, Carl is back at work and returning his gratitude by serving on the Neighborhood Health Clinics board.
“People giving to the community, in whatever capacity, is good on a number of levels. You’re providing for someone else that has a need for it … you know that you’ve done something worthwhile. Makes you feel good. It’s positive. It’s a win-win, give-give in every direction.”
