Restoring Hope for a Future Family

“It’s not cancer!”

Tears fell from Maia’s relieved face as she processed the good news. The 31-year-old put her life on hold for 3 years because of her health. Now, amidst all the chaos happening in the world, she finally feels a new chapter of her life beginning.

“It burned.” Maia recounts. “My insides were very sensitive and intimacy was unbearable. I was emotionally and psychologically damaged by my fears of what could happen if I tried to get pregnant.”

Maia has been unemployed for 2 years and her previous jobs only paid minimum wage. Insurance was not a viable option due to price, so she visited a low-cost clinic where a vaginal cyst was discovered. She was told that the surgery would cost between $5,000-$10,000. After paying all of her bills, Maia only had $200 left for the month, half of which she sent to her aging parents in Mexico.

A little over a year ago, she found a health center that was able to refer her to Lestonnac Free Clinic for the cyst removal. The referral was sent through the Community Referral Network (CRN), a HIPAA-compliant, free electronic referral tool that allows non-profits to send referrals to each other.

Maia’s procedure was scheduled at Lestonnac prior to the pandemic-related “Stay at Home” order. As non-essential surgeries became indefinitely postponed nationwide, Maia was anxious and depressed at the possibility of her procedure being canceled. To her surprise, Lestonnac called to confirm that her procedure would still take place in early April.

Dr. Fuller, a volunteer gynecologist at Lestonnac for almost a decade, decided to continue providing in-person medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes it is a critical time to care for vulnerable patients in the community. Dr. Fuller knew the care he could provide would increase the likelihood of patients like Maia making it through these trying times.

On April 7th, Dr. Fuller was able to successfully remove Maia’s cyst. As a precaution he sent a sample out for further testing. The results came back a couple of weeks later as negative for cancer.

“It’s a miracle! I can’t wait to tell my husband. We can try to start a family.” Maia held her face for a moment crying. After a long, reassured sigh she continued “I want to say thank you to Dr. Fuller and everyone at Lestonnac for making me feel that my life matters. Without your help, I and people like me would probably die.” Maia is able to start the next chapter of her life with hope because of dedicated volunteers like Dr. Fuller and supporters like you.