Derrick Richardson, Fort Wayne, IN

Sports have always been a big part of my life, and one of the things I looked forward to most when having a family was teaching and coaching my two young children, hopefully instilling in them the same love of sports.

But shoulder pain threatened my dream and stood in the way of all that. I’m only 34 years old but have experienced shoulder problems for many years. I had surgery in 1997 and a second surgery in 2005.

I’m self-employed and in 2014 my wife, Jennifer, and I wanted a more biblical approach to our health care, so we joined CHM that December.

In early summer 2015 I experienced a recurrence of my shoulder symptoms. My first thought was wondering how this would revolve since we have CHM rather than a health insurance policy. We prayed about it and decided to move forward with treatment.

I was diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis and learned that I needed to undergo a complete shoulder replacement, which took place in January 2016.

At first we were told that both the surgeon and hospital required upfront payment of about $30,000 before the surgery which, of course, made us very nervous. We don’t have that kind of money, I thought. We called CHM for help. The staff did a wonderful job communicating with the health care providers and making arrangements so that all we had to do was show up on the day of surgery. It didn’t matter who we talked with at CHM, we always got the same answers and received the same high-quality service. What a refreshing experience!

The grand total of my medical bills was more than $115,000 and I received over $50,500 in discounts. Of the remaining amount, CHM shared $25,000 through its pre-existing schedule* for Gold level members. The remaining amount was listed on the newsletter’s Prayer Page, and we now receive a check each month reflecting voluntary donations members have sent to help with Prayer Page needs.

Over the past months God taught us patience and the power of prayer. I’m a deacon at our church and the support we received from family and church members has shown us that we are indeed blessed. Knowing that CHM members are also praying for us is a great encouragement.

We have many more good things to say about CHM. We have been impressed by the staff members’ good communication skills, patience and expertise. It really felt like someone was on our side and fighting for our health. With CHM in our corner, a great deal of stress was removed from our shoulders. We have thus far brought four new families to CHM and hope to refer many more.

Today I’m doing well and continued physical therapy has made a big difference in my daily life. The ability to sleep at night without pain is truly an answer to prayer. With an excellent surgeon and the right support team of CHM staff and members, I can now look forward to a future of fun with my daughter Chloe (7) and son Isaiah (3)! We’re so thankful.