“Hey, Siri.” Siri responded with a ding. That’s how Rachel found her phone. She doesn’t remember everything that led up to the accident, but she does remember waking up. Car upside down. Buckled in her seat. Bones broken.
“Hey, Siri.” She released her seat belt, rummaged through the car, found her phone, and called 911. The next thing she remembers is being cut out of the car and being put in an ambulance.
Michelle walked into the emergency room and Rachel recognized her. Michelle said it was like God saying, yes, she’s totally broken, but mentally she’s OK. Rachel was life-flighted to a hospital miles away. John met them there. They were in the eye of the storm.
The first surgery to repair her ruptured intestines came quickly. Michelle said that many of the early decisions were not up for discussion. Life flight had to happen. Emergency surgery had to happen. Michelle found comfort knowing that she didn’t have to make those early decisions.
Soon, John and Michelle would have a voice in their daughter’s care. From multiple surgeries to therapy to ongoing recovery, they made the decisions that were best for Rachel because they weren’t tied to a network or a certain way of doing things. Michelle became a fierce advocate for Rachel’s medical care. She knew that as Samaritan Ministries members, they would be OK.
Still, as the hospital bills started coming in, questions flooded Michelle’s mind. “How will this work?” “How in the world can hundreds of thousands of dollars be shared?” John reassured her that would be OK. Again, she felt peace in the storm.
“It's just amazing. The person-to-person thing really gets your heart engaged and goes from your head to your heart. That's when you start thinking this is good. This is the Church.”
Because they were cash-pay patients, Michelle knew she could ask for discounts. And she did. With help from Samaritan Ministries’ provider relations team, they were able to negotiate over $500,000 in medical bills to just under $250,000.
Then they had to trust. Fellow Samaritan members responded. They prayed, sent notes of encouragement, and money to help them pay Rachel’s medical bills. And Rachel? She focused on getting 1 percent better every day.
It’s been four years since the accident and Rachel is in school on her way to becoming a physician assistant. She always knew she wanted to go into medicine, and because of the accident this is the path she chose.
Rachel is continually reminded of Scripture that talks about how we can use the times that God has comforted us to comfort others.
Comfort others. That’s exactly what she’s going to do.
John and Michelle have been Samaritan members since 2016
