Poster children

A great article written about Steve and Nancy for the Anthem member newsletter. (A google search says that Anthem has 40 million members!) If you want to see the article with pictures, try using this link...

https://www.insidemyplan.com/page.aspx?qs=472529ec60bdf32a85a4b3aceecddc36f6ed845b620621027e43005b8df841746e8dae9f23153b0aea19080c4a1865699b241fc062b92dccd88cdefd266c5d433b37fa88fc554974756c3e95105bdda6fe6b986dcc9cbf9c809db77aa6789108332861a8a462c7dc6c4e3f7cf1789ca8512547dbf1040c03

Inside My Plan

April 2017

Paralyzed patient's journey back to health

Steve Parsley is recovering from GBS slowly but surely with the help of his devoted wife, Nancy.

What Steve has accomplished to recover from GBS is pretty amazing, says his wife Nancy, proudly.

On the eve of their move to a new condo, Steve and Nancy Parsley saw their world turn upside down. Once high school sweethearts and married for 47 years, the couple would not be moving into their new home together. They would live apart for more than two years.

On March 9, 2014, Steve was admitted to a hospital with flu-like symptoms. The next day, the 67-year-old former engineer was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). GBS is a rare disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the nervous system. As a result, Steve became fully paralyzed. For about a year, he breathed through a tube inserted into his windpipe and ate through a feeding tube. He could not speak. With Nancy's help, he first learned to "talk" with his eyebrows.

Steve is recovering slowly but surely — achieving one milestone at a time — with the support of his devoted wife, family, friends and a Case Management (CM) team from our plan. Over the last two years, he learned how to speak, eat and sit up. "Recovery for Steve has been long, arduous and slow," says Nancy. "Complications occurred. He had a bleeding trachea, pneumonia, MRSA infection and hematoma (blood clot)."

Plan helps with post-discharge transitions of care

Nancy and Steve indeed have been going through some very rough times. But they feel privileged to have "someone" make things easier for them to get help with Steve's therapy needs. That "someone" is Cynthia Lou Crouse, a case manager with our plan. "Until something like this happens, you can't know all the things you have to do," explains Nancy. "You can't imagine how I felt when out of the blue, I get a call from Cindi Lou. From then on, we were working together as partners helping Steve.

"Before Cindi Lou called, we just thought of our health plan as a plan with no face. Cindi Lou gave a face to our plan. She really understood what we needed and why we needed something. She helped us understand how to interact with our health plan so we can get the help we needed. She would explain to doctors and therapists why Steve had to get certain types of therapy and rehab. She helped us get the approvals we needed. Steve has to keep up with his therapy sessions so his muscles won't regress. Not all therapy providers know enough about GBS and how each GBS patient is different."

Cindi Lou and her CM team went into action for the Parsleys in 2015 after Steve got discharged from the hospital. The team helped make Steve's transition from one type of rehab care to another easier. "Working with our medical directors, Dr. Michael Smith, Dr. Linda Hotchkiss and Dr. Mark Tussey, made this all possible," says Cindi Lou. "They were committed to Steve's continuity of care. They made sure there was no breakdown in Steve's benefit coverage as he transitioned to different levels of care." Cindi Lou continues to work with the Parsleys today.

More milestones

This year, Steve is focused on making his legs stronger to be able to stand and hold himself up on his own. He also leads a bible study group and is quite active on the internet. "I see this as a way to share my faith and knowledge of GBS, a little-known ailment," says Steve. Nancy adds, "Steve never misses a chance to talk about his doctors, aides and therapists. They helped us find our way through the complexities of health care."

And finally, for the first time in more than two years, Steve and Nancy are now living together in an assisted living home in Kentucky. A huge milestone!

In his blog, Steve notes: "We have a great group of doctors, friends and supporters that are always at the ready to help. We can only pay this forward as we move on. I sincerely hope none of you ever need the type or amount of support we have received."