Pamela Waddell and her husband, Donald, had a great life.
Happily married, they lived and raised their two daughters in the first home they bought together in Indian River County forty-four years before. Pamela had been a school bus driver much of her life. For ten years, she drove the VNA’s Health Care on Wheels mobile bus, taking wellness and medical care to people who couldn’t afford it throughout our county. Donald was employed by Piper Aircraft for fifteen years as a tool maker. And then – their world fell apart. In the span of just three months, Pamela was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to give up her job on the mobile bus, Donald was laid off from Piper, the home they had shared for forty-four years was gutted by fire, and they both lost their medical insurance coverage.
Donald was fortunate enough to be eligible for Medicare but Pamela was too young. Feeling totally alone, they could neither obtain nor afford medical insurance coverage for Pamela. “We had no money to pay the medical bills. You have no idea what it’s like to be sick in America without insurance,” stated Donald. As time went on, the cancer spread to Pamela’s brain, making it more and more difficult for Donald and their two daughters to care for her at home. Her doctor recommended Hospice. In their darkest hour, the VNA was there for the entire Waddell family. The VNA helped Pamela enroll in Medicaid, the state health care program for the uninsured, and picked up the additional costs that Medicaid did not cover.
The VNA also created a home health care plan for Pamela. That plan included skilled nursing care, physician visits, and a home health aide to help Pamela bathe. In addition, the VNA provided medicine and supplies, including a hospital bed. Nevertheless, the VNA brought more than just services; it brought a measure of comfort and peace of mind to the Waddell family. Pamela was cared for compassionately in her home until the last week and a half of her life when she was moved to the VNA Hospice House. “They just have my eternal gratitude, that is all I can say,” Donald said of the people at VNA and hospice.
The VNA brought more than just services; it brought a measure of comfort and peace of mind to the Waddell family.
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