No one expects to need two heart surgeries at the age of thirty-six. But that’s exactly what happened for Jason, a Medi-Share member in the Midwest.
Jason and his wife joined Medi-Share around 2018. The monthly costs and overall sharing model attracted him in the beginning, and since then he’s come to appreciate the benefits of having a faith-based infrastructure as well.
“I’m very glad I made that decision,” Jason says.
Jason has always been healthy and fit – a “low-risk” individual, as he describes himself. So when his doctor detected a heart murmur during a routine exam in 2022, Jason didn’t think much of it at first. After all, heart murmurs are often just something to monitor.
As directed, Jason scheduled a follow-up appointment with a cardiologist for a more in-depth test. That test raised a few red flags, so the doctor ordered another one. When Jason woke up from that procedure, he was told the bad news: Microvalve prolapse. He needed open heart surgery, and relatively soon. If left untreated for more than two years, his condition would lead to congestive heart failure.
Jason decided the best course of action was a proactive one. Why delay inevitable surgery? “I wanted to go ahead and get it done, hopefully never think about it again,” he says. “And with Medi-Share, I had an advantage.”
Jason feels that having Medi-Share was integral in getting the surgery done quickly. His approval process was quick for this doctor-recommended intervention, even though it wasn’t an emergency. He also was able to easily obtain approval for the specific type of surgery that he wanted: Robotic valve repair.
Robotic valve repair is a newer procedure, with better results. Instead of having his chest cut fully open, Jason’s incision would be much smaller, meaning recovery would be easier and shorter. Also, robotic valve repair is known to be a higher quality repair since it’s done with a microscope at a tiny level.
“I got a procedure that I probably couldn’t have gotten if I had insurance,” Jason says.
Not every hospital is equipped to do robotic valve repair, though. Jason spent a bit of time looking around for a hospital that could do the robotic procedure and was in-network with Medi-Share. Once located, he had an initial consult and was on the operating table eight days later.
“The surgery went well,” Jason says, “until they needed to resuscitate me.”
After the robotic repair was done and they went to restart his heart, Jason experienced ventricular fibrillation. It was a rare complication, one that the surgeon said he’s never seen before. The operating team had to act quickly – in the form of immediate open-heart surgery.
Jason woke up to a big incision on his chest and the news that he’d actually had two heart surgeries that day. What should’ve been a two-day stay in the hospital turned into around four days. But despite that unexpected shock, Jason says he’s grateful on several levels.
First, he appreciates the financial support of the sharing community at Medi-Share. Jason estimates that his bills would’ve been substantial if he was a cash patient. Medi-Share settled accounts for around half that amount and then shared the billing as expected.
“We didn’t pay anything that we didn’t expect to pay,” Jason says.
Second, he’s grateful for the spiritual and emotional support that he encountered in his interactions with Medi-Share.
“Surgery is very stressful. They don’t tell you that open heart surgery will probably change you forever. It changes your emotional profile. It changes the way you look at the world. I think your body kind of remembers that your heart wasn’t beating for a while. I was very stressed and anxious after surgery, for a number of weeks and months. But it was nice not to have the anxiety of money during that time. It was nice to be able to call and talk to Christians. I recommend Medi-Share to anybody.”
In a final note, Jason adds that this experience helped him recalibrate his view on the life God’s given him. “Nobody is promised tomorrow. Surgery brought home the reality of eternity to me. It’s refocused me.”
We’re so grateful for the powerful testimony of God’s work in Jason’s life. As a member community, we rejoice with him and his family over his healing and pray blessings over all the tomorrows that God has in store for him.
