Mark Lamb should have died.
Instead, this week he was giving thanks at a meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors.
His survival is part of Navajo County’s notable, money-saving medical insurance add-on that provides second opinions and the services of medical advocates who specialize in finding top-line care in the most complicated cases. Thanks to you.
Or you can believe in the tearful prayer of a ram on the side of the road at the frayed end of a long rope.
Lambs tend to emphasize prayer. “I want to thank the Supervisory Board for hiring good people who God helped when it seemed impossible.”
Ram’s story of despair and survival certainly has all the hallmarks of a miracle. Were told.
But the story also highlights another lesson. It is the toll of a fragmented healthcare system that leaves perhaps 15% of the population uninsured. Navajo County has one of the highest percentages of uninsured residents in the state.
Moreover, even those with good insurance, such as Navajo County employees, face deadly challenges in negotiating with the world’s most expensive, inefficient, and highly unfair healthcare system. often face. The United States has nearly doubled her per capita health care spending compared to most other industrialized nations, yet has lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and lower childhood vaccination coverage. It is
The United States ranked last in the Commonwealth Fund’s comparison of health care outcomes of 11 developed country health systems. The U.S. preventable death rate was twice that of the leading country, Switzerland. However, the United States spends more money on health care than any other country and accounts for a large share of the world’s largest gross domestic product.
Navajo County already provides hundreds of employees with adequate health insurance, but two years ago it decided to add the Edison Health Program to its coverage. Edison comes into play when county employees have complex health care issues, and caseworkers are assigned to help navigate the system. This includes getting a second opinion. It may also allow patients to be treated in specialized clinics or hospitals. It may sound expensive, but the system actually saves the county about $350,000 a year in health care costs.
This system saved Ram’s life with the help of Upstairs.
Lamb grew up in Navajo County, riding horses and loved the views of the horizon. He has been an equipment operator for the Navajo County Public Works Department since his 2016.
“I had a checkup in October 2020. ‘A quick blood test. I saw a doctor and he said, ‘You have cancer. I’ve never seen such a high number.'”
A local oncologist concluded that the cancer was too advanced to respond to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Lamb sought a second opinion in Tucson.
“It got worse. He said I have to live for months in front of my wife and son. He said there is no cure, no hope. You have months.”
A friend told him to try the Mayo Clinic. is not.”
Lam said, “But your website says it accepts people regardless of their ability to pay.
A Mayo Clinic representative said, “But you have the ability to pay. You have insurance.”
“I’ll drop it,” Ram said.
“I can’t do that,” she replied.
Lambs stood hopelessly by the side of the icy December dirt road, waiting for the truck to be unequipped. “Ever since I was 18, I’ve wanted to marry a woman who trusted me as a husband and a father. And I did. The best woman in the world. All I had was a death sentence I had nowhere to go I started crying I couldn’t hold it back I said .
“I didn’t realize it then, but God was already working. Blade operator Bob Ripley came in. He said, ‘What’s wrong? When I told him, he said, ‘Eric Please call Scott.”
Scott vowed to find a solution.
He called the next day and said, ‘This one just fell out of the sky,’ and he started telling me about this Edison guy.
Then everything changed. Sean, from Edison, spent several days reviewing her records and researching her treatment options.
“I’m a little embarrassed to admit it before God, but it looks like I’ve been scammed. I called Eric and said, ‘Is this true?’ “
Within days, Edison made an appointment with a specialist clinic in Beverly Hills, California.
“I grew up riding horses on the Black and Blue Rivers. He wants me to go to Beverly Hills. It’s scary. So I said, ‘I don’t have the money to do that.’ . “
Sean said. There is a way to solve this. you have to trust me
The words hit Ram. “I’ve been in prison, I’ve been doing all sorts of things, and I’m worried about my sins. And I’ve heard the same words from the Lord. ‘You must trust me.’ ” You hit the same wall. So I said, ‘Okay. I’ll do it.’
Initially, the clinic appeared to deny him insurance. But instead, my doctor told me to make an appointment with the clinic. The plan provided a debit card, hotel room and plane ticket.
“They gave me every test you could imagine. So I’m talking to this guy — and I couldn’t afford his lunch — but he said, ‘Hey, you Who are you? A relative of Dr. Gabayan?”
“I just met the man yesterday,” Lam said.
“Are you famous?” he asked, puzzled.
“A celebrity’s illegitimate child?” another doctor insisted.
“Are you paying cash?”
“No. I have no money,” Ram said.
“Then how did this happen?”
“The short version of this story is that I was told I was going to die and I am here praying on the dirt roads of Arizona.”
“Are you serious?” asked the doctor, puzzled.
Lam then added, “The craziest thing about this story is that it’s true,” for the benefit of the supervisor.
The clinic decided to treat cancer. “They were like, ‘Mark, you have really bad cancer. I think we can do something with it.'”
After six weeks of radiation therapy, doctors discovered another problem.
This time, he ended up at Oklahoma Heart Hospital, where he was once again at the top of the line.
“As I was getting ready to carry me to the operating room, my mother called me. She said, ‘Remember how much I love you when you go through those double doors.’ Please. I was on that gurney – I was naked – I was looking up at those doctors. They all said yes. “Then please pray for me while you work on me,” Ram said.
Ram admitted to God that he was still alive and promised to testify in prayer.
“I walked that Hollywood Walk of Fame. increase.”
And, of course, the county and health plan people who were the “building blocks” of God’s plan.
“I can’t thank Eric Scott, the members of the Care Committee, Sean, and each and every one of you.
Peter Aleshire covers state and county government and other topics for The Independent. He is the former editor of his Payson Roundup.contact him paleshire@payson.com
