I am a 65 year old retired teacher. I was looking forward to spending my retirement years traveling, fishing, and quilting. My world stopped when I was recently diagnosed with Lymphedema in both legs. The nightmare began by trying to understand the condition, how I was going to get treated, and my quality of life in the future.
I am on Medicare, and my husband is 75 years young and a veteran of the Korean era and is traveling back and forth over 200 miles each trip to get VA medical care. Now, I too must travel the same distance to get treatment. We have traveled over 2,000 miles in the month of February dealing with our treatments. With gasoline going up every day, I don’t know how I will be able to continue with the treatments. Medicare doesn’t pay for all the bandages and garments I need. Our savings are gone paying for all the medical devices that Medicare doesn’t cover. My limited budget did not include these costs.
Where do I cut my budget? Gasoline, food, or medicine? I tried to get help with organizations, but am told I do not qualify. I make too much money under the federal and state guidelines. I am begging my Congress to rethink who qualifies for help with medical care and medical devices. The bulk of our money is from Social Security funds. I paid into Social Security since I was 18 and my husband since he was 14. Believe me, Social Security funds are not enough to live on in today’s economy.
I ask that you pass a bill to help recognize the severity of this condition and help with the medical needs.
I did not get this condition from cancer. As of this date, my doctors are not sure how I got it, but it is permanent. My husband and I cannot go out and get jobs to supplement our Social Security. We need this bill to go forward quickly.
