In July 2024, I had surgery on my heel to remove bone spurs that were digging into my Achilles tendon. My insurance at that time was through my job, and it ended July 31, when my severance ended after being laid off–but it did pay for most of that surgery. What little savings I had, I used to cover the rest.
But a couple of weeks ago, when I was still healing from that surgery, I fell off my knee scooter; I was retrieving an Amazon package from the front porch, and my dog, a recent rescue, slipped through the door behind me. I reached for him, and, without thinking, braced myself on my still-healing ankle. The sudden stress completely tore my Achilles tendon from my heel.
I no longer have my work insurance, and my new insurance doesn’t cover this new surgery. I’m having to pay $10,000 to the surgery center, plus nearly $2,000 to the surgeon himself. I don’t even know what post-surgery expenses will be, such as physical therapy, any assistive devices, etc. But these immediate costs are my big concern. The stress is bearing down and has made for many sleepless nights.
At age 62, I’m too young for Medicare, and my only income now is Social Security. I’ve never had to ask for financial help from anyone before, but $12,000 is an impossible amount of money to pay, in my situation.
Obviously, any amount you can spare will help me with this unexpected and onerous financial burden.