COVID survivor finds ‘peace because of CHM’, John Dondero, Ponte Vedra, Florida

In March 2020, I returned home from a brief trip to Europe. Shortly after, I felt exhausted and achy. I’d never felt that sick. I suffered through my symptoms for a week before getting tested for COVID-19.

It took another week to get the results: I was positive for COVID. By that time, however, I felt better. I told my wife, Susan, and my friends, “I’m back!”

But the very next day, I experienced shortness of breath. Breathing was so difficult that I drove myself to the emergency room. Upon my arrival, the ER staff diagnosed me with COVID-induced bilateral pneumonia.

When my wife found out I was hospitalized, she thought: “What is the best thing I can do for John?” She immediately called our small group leader to ask for prayer. He sent a request to the deacons and pastoral staff, and together they all prayed for us. It gave us comfort and peace to know we were surrounded in prayer!

After four days in the hospital, I was finally released. Recovery was slow. The doctor told me it would take about 60 days to feel 90 percent normal again—and he was right. It has taken me a long time to get back to the active person I was.

Susan handled all of the medical bills while I recovered. CHM makes it an easy and efficient experience. We told healthcare providers that we were self-pay and would like the self-pay rate. Every provider gave us a discount from 20 to 70 percent. Once we received the bills, Susan took pictures of them with a scan app and submitted the documents to CHM through the free Member Portal.

Within 90 days, 100 percent of our eligible medical bills were shared—and that was in the middle of a global pandemic when many CHM employees were working from home! CHM went the extra mile, and they’ve continued to do so by further reducing sharing time.

We had peace during this scary time because of the faithfulness of CHM members. Thank you!