After the early morning cross-country flight, Danica Novak wanted to take a shower and get at least ten hours of sleep. What she got was a claim for her lost luggage, a taxi ride to her office in Palo Alto where the driver hit every red light, and another argument with her parents' insurance company over her brother's medical bills.
This was the third time I had spoken to someone from the medical society since the plane landed, and it wasn't even 11 a.m. in California yet.
"They don't cover the treatment?" As she spoke, she rummaged in her purse for something to pay the taxi driver. Her credit card was useless, as she'd discovered when she tried to use it to buy food on the plane. Her sudden trip to Rhode Island had stripped her of her last savings. "They can't keep the costs down?"
Danica made an effort to remain calm and her voice even. During her teenage years, having to help her father with the paperwork to open a laundromat, she'd learned that getting angry at bureaucrats got her nowhere.
"Yes, I understand. You've been told the treatment is confidential and optional. Could I speak to the manager, please? Excuse me?" She stared at her phone. The call had been cut off or hung up on.
The taxi driver honked his horn to get their attention.
–Miss, I have to go. I need you to pay me.
"Yes, just a moment, please." Danica put down her phone and rummaged through her purse again. The twenty-dollar bill for the emergency room had to be there somewhere...Now! She bundled the bill with the others in her hand, paid the taxi driver, got out of the car, and welcomed the Monday morning sunshine.
Danica opened the door to the office building. It seemed like an age since she'd rushed out of there to go to her parents' house. She still hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing her brother Matt, always a whirlwind of activity, completely motionless in a hospital bed.
Matt, born eight years before her, had been a surprise baby, the joy of the entire family. As a senior in high school, he'd attracted the attention of many colleges due to his promising track and field talent. Those had been his prospects until two weeks ago, when an accident during a football game had left him with a head injury, a fractured femur, and a spinal cord injury.
Now, finally, he was out of danger and the prognosis was good; he was expected to make a full recovery. However, doctors were concerned because he wasn't responding as well as expected to conventional treatment. There was an experimental therapy that might speed Matt's recovery, but it wasn't