Member Story: Michael Widuck, Canton, Ohio
- Total eligible bills: $62,006
- Provider discounts: $22,710
- Total bills shared: $39,296
As an entrepreneurial family, we’ve learned the value of flexibility. My wife, Krissy, owns and manages a retro camper company, providing a photo booth and other services to weddings and events. I manage rental properties and am a realtor.
One day, as I was listening to The Ramsey Show, I heard him mention CHM. It seemed like it had exactly what we needed with our self-employed lifestyle, and so we joined at Bronze.
We didn’t need to use it at first, but when the worst-case scenario finally happened, we were lucky we had CHM.
On a chilly February day, I was trying to take my garage door down. I was working on disassembling the spring when suddenly it snapped back and crashed into my hand.
I looked down: My fingers were crooked and bleeding.
I called 911. Krissy, my wife, pulled in with the kids as I was standing there in the driveway staring at my hand in shock. She heard the ambulance sirens coming, but I couldn’t explain to her what had happened.
I was rushed to the hospital, and they stopped the bleeding. However, I needed surgery, but since the surgeon was already performing a cancer surgery, I had to wait for the entire day. When I woke up from my operation, he informed me I’d broken three fingers and he’d put pins in them all.
“Your index finger, though,” he said. “The joint got pretty smashed. It will not move much. You’re going to have pain and trouble with it.”
It was hard trying to recover from this surgery, not knowing how things would turn out. I do everything with my hands; would my hand be damaged forever? I was also thinking about my kids. They were still young, and I was thinking about how different things would be with a damaged hand.
Additionally, I wasn’t sure what things would look like with CHM. Would they share my bills? How long would it take? Would my provider work with CHM? As bills came in, I scanned them in and submitted them to CHM. Every eligible medical expense was shared. I didn’t have to worry about any lingering bills from the surgery.
My hand also healed up well. I even have 90% mobility in my index finger. That’s a huge blessing from God.
CHM has given us the opportunity and the flexibility to follow our passions and dreams. Shortly after my hand incident, Krissy and I bought and restored a neglected building in downtown Canal Fulton, Ohio. In the downstairs, we were able to empower a mom to start her own business by providing her with a storefront, and the upstairs is an Airbnb suite.
When it comes to healthcare, CHM is how it’s supposed to work. We’re so thankful for this ministry.
