Hospital case management review turns into prayer time, Samaritan discussion for new SMI staffer

Praise the Lord, we’re now on the other side of all this. I’ve been at home for three days now, and my recovery is going well. I’ve got a wicked cool scar under my arm, and two holes where the chest tubes were! Katie and I are so grateful for your and SMI’s prayers. We’ve seen miracle after miracle as a result. We went from fearing cancer because the PET scan showed a “high likelihood of malignancy” to relief because the pathology showed the tumor to be benign. I firmly believe that that was the result of all the prayers being offered on our behalf, and our Lord deserves our thanksgiving. I’ve got a cool story to tell you that highlights why SMI is so important and why it is desperately needed.

When I was moved from ICU to PCU two days after my surgery, a case management worker named Kathy came in to discuss some issues regarding my account. My wife and mother-in-law were in the room with us. The conversation began as you would expect, and when the time came, I began to explain in detail what SMI is and does. She kept asking questions and I kept answering them, and I soon picked up that she was no longer asking the questions as a case management representative. The questions were much more inquisitive, and took a more personal tone. Soon she revealed that she was a Christian and had a son who was helping run a small church while attending college at South Florida University. Her son wants to be a pastor. She revealed that he was diagnosed with Lymphoma when he was a senior in high school and has since gone into remission. Kathy said that he was going to need insurance but that he was concerned about the obvious moral issues. I told her what the Guidelines say about cancers of the same type, special prayer needs, and the outpouring of prayer and support by fellow believers, and she was amazed that something like SMI existed. We talked about how people aren’t just a collection of cells and that the body of believers has so much more to offer than just monetary care. By the end of our conversation we were all holding hands, praying for one another around my bed. We prayed for her and her son, and she prayed for me and my wife. What started off as a routine case management visit turned into a moment of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, and that is why SMI is so crucial. That moment would never have happened had I simply handed her my Blue Cross/Blue Shield card. SMI provided a moment for the Gospel to be exalted within a medical situation. God is using SMI to sanctify believers at the point where their lives and their healthcare meet. What an amazing and worthy ministry!

Cody Dewitt is the newest addition to our Membership Development team (they’re the folks who answer the calls from people interested in our ministry), but his journey from Texas to our Peoria, Illinois, headquarters was anything but smooth. Just before he and his family headed north, Cody was diagnosed with lung cancer. Praise God, he has recovered and is now learning the ropes of taking inquiry calls, although the Dewitts were delayed again by an ice storm in Tennessee. But during his time in the hospital, he was happy to start his new job early by sharing with his caretakers about health care sharing through Samaritan. Here’s an email he sent out while still on his way to Peoria.