Healing Jeff’s Heart

My name is Jennifer. My husband, Jeff Brannon, and I are a hardworking middle class couple just like most of you. At the young age of 51 Jeff’s heart is failing, most likely due to a genetic cause. The cardiologist suggested the possibility of needing a heart transplant. Much to Jeff’s dismay, he was forced to retire from his job of 23 years. Jeff was a good provider for our family & words cannot express how hard this has been for him.

After multiple surgeries over the last few years & mounting medical bills, our savings is gone. We do have medical insurance but were forced to pay some of our copayments with credit cards or face refusal of services for potentially life saving treatments & medications. An example of this is the surgery a couple months ago for Jeff’s pacemaker- defibrillator. This defibrillator has shocked him on 2 occasions correcting a potentially life threatening arrhythmia. Had we not charged that copay, the surgery would have been cancelled & my precious husband may not have survived those episodes without this life saving device. Without the medications to make his heart pump more effectively instead of just quivering, my husband may not be here with me today. We are desperately trying to get Jeff qualified for disability but it is a VERY slow & difficult process. Until Jeff qualifies for Medicare I must keep him on my insurance policy. It is expensive & our copays have gone up for next year increasing our burden even more.

We are now surviving on only my income. We are living frugally & have no place left to cut our budget. I have already been working a second job, we are selling desserts & plate lunches, we are planning a garage sale & have even sold personal items online. I have considered taking a third job but would have no time left to spend with Jeff. I have also considered the toll a third job would have on my health. I need to be healthy & strong for us both.

unfortunately we can no longer afford the medical expenses& our basic daily living expenses. My husband needs to focus on staying well. He does not need to have the stress of this financial burden weighing so heavily on him. I can manage most of our daily living expenses if we could get some help with some of the medical expenses. Some of the hospitals have agreed to lower our monthly payments temporarily. Some have turned us over to collections who relentlessly harass us for being late with payments. We also have the charged copays for surgeries & medications which are proving to be hard to pay down due to interest.

Please understand that a medical crisis can happen to anyone. We were financially stable before all of this occurred. So be kind if nothing else. We would be eternally grateful for any help with these medical bills & look forward to a day when we can pay it forward. Lastly, please keep us in your prayers & ask God to heal Jeff’s heart.