Jessica Garza had lived with pain for so long, that she couldn’t remember what it was like without it. Every month she would be on edge. Jessica shares, “The fear of an episode coming on was always in the back of my mind.”
The episodes came on sporadically, and Jessica never knew when one would happen. Sometimes she’d go months without one. But when they did come, the pain wouldn’t just stop and start; it was constant. She recalls, “It was about 45 minutes of laying in the bed. I was sweating, white as a ghost, and in so much pain. I could almost compare it to labor pains.”
Justin, Jessica’s husband, shares, “I knew that an episode could happen at any moment. I would be terrified to be in a situation where I couldn’t get home from work or wouldn’t be around to help. A lot of times she’d call me, and I’d sit on the phone with her as she moaned in pain. ’Just keep breathing,’ I would tell her.”
After years of going to doctor’s appointments, asking questions, and telling her story, Jessica felt defeated. Nobody cared. She felt, “Nobody’s going to help me. Everyone just wanted to listen to my symptoms; nobody tried to dig deeper as to what was actually causing all of my issues. They basically just wanted to put a band-aid over it.” She prayed that God would show her another way.
The pain was getting worse, and the episodes were coming more often. Jessica learned that surgery, a hysterectomy, was an option—one she hadn’t been given before. Jessica called Christian Healthcare Ministries. She prayed, “Lord, please just let this work.”
“The experience of traveling for surgery through ACS was better than we could have imagined. CHM gave me my life back. They gave me hope for the future. And the worry is now gone. The fear of pain is gone.”
– JESSICA
Hysterectomy surgery and travel?
CHM, through the Advantage Care Solution (ACS), gave Jessica the option to travel for hysterectomy surgery. Jessica, at first, believed she couldn’t do it. Justin, likewise, was nervous when he heard travel was in the cards.
“The thought of traveling for surgery was so scary, but I didn’t understand that CHM would take care of everything,” Jessica shares.
The reassurance of knowing CHM would take care of it all—the travel expenses, the itemized bill paperwork, the medical bill costs—made all the difference. “Everything was done and set and all we had to do was show up.”
Jessica shares, “My surgeon was amazing. He really made me feel like he cared about me.” He sent a video to introduce himself and show Jessica and Justin the surgery center and explained everything which gave them an extra level of reassurance.
Jessica and Justin were equally amazed by the detail given to the accommodations—the rental car was selected knowing she’d be riding in it after surgery; the hotel accommodations were also booked with that in mind.
Justin was nervous about caring for his wife after surgery so far from home. He shares, “As soon as I saw her face after surgery, I just went into ‘go’ mode. I knew that I could take care of her and that I wasn’t going to mess it up. We were a team.”
Although it wasn’t what Jessica expected, God answered her prayers to show her another way: “CHM is the avenue that Jesus uses to take care of us. And without CHM, I would probably still be living in pain and hopelessness.”
Jessica and Justin Garza
ATHOL, IDAHO
Total eligible bills: $49,933.43
Provider discounts: -$17,925.53
Total bills shared: $32,007.90
