When a Bible study bagel run turned into an unexpected ambulance ride, Erin Hibbard was caught a bit off guard, to say the least. Thankfully, Medi-Share was there to shoulder some of the shock.
Erin and Jack Hibbard joined the Medi-Share community in 2012. Like many, they were drawn to the ministry for both financial and spiritual reasons. The couple found that they could save a significant amount of money by sharing in medical expenses with Medi-Share. And they appreciated the way that a biblical value system guides Medi-Share practices.
“It’s been a great privilege to have a health sharing partner who shares a faith-based belief and desire to please God,” Erin says.
For several years, the Hibbards enjoyed good health, never really needing to rely on the sharing community for any big bills. But in 2016, all that changed in an instant.
Jack recalls being in the middle of a prayer meeting at church when he received a call from his wife’s phone. He knew instantly that it must be an emergency, because otherwise Erin would simply wait until after the meeting was over. He picked up and immediately asked what was wrong. A man on the other end informed him that Erin had taken a serious fall and was being loaded into an ambulance as they spoke.
Erin had been picking up a bagel platter to share with the young moms she discipled in her Bible study. Suddenly, she slipped on the floor, took a hard fall, and found that she couldn’t get up. The accident led her to two surgeries for meniscus tears in her knee, as well as physical therapy for her back, among other things.
“Medi-Share was there for all of it,” she says. She also enjoyed reciprocal prayer each time she called Medi-Share; she and various team members would exchange requests and pray for one another on the line. “That’s valuable to me,” Erin says.
After she recovered from knee surgery, Erin found out she had atrial fibrillation and needed heart surgery. Naturally, the couple was concerned. But they felt a great deal of peace as Medi-Share walked with them before, during, and after the procedure.
Jack says, “It took the pressure off of us financially.” He remembers getting a call from Medi-Share stating that they’d initiated a conversation with the hospital prior to Erin’s surgery and negotiated an upfront payment that was hundreds of thousands of dollars less than anticipated. He knew then that everything was going to be okay. “We got to sit back and watch a miracle, basically.”
Jack sums up the Medi-Share difference well: “You have people on the other end of the phone, and yeah, they’re doing their job, but they also really care about you.”
Overall, Erin and Jack are grateful that God led them to the Medi-Share community. Erin says, “We feel strongly that the body of Christ uniting in health sharing as Medi-Share does pleases our Heavenly Father greatly.” And we’re so glad the Hibbards are a part of our community, too!
