Norwalk
Maynor spent last Christmas and New Year’s in the hospital gasping for air, his pregnant wife by his side. The 36-year-old, who has suffered from severe asthma all of his adult life, was diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted to the intensive care unit. When he was finally well enough to be discharged more than a week later, the hospital staff suggested he seek follow-up care at the AmeriCares mobile clinic in Stamford because he is uninsured.
On his first visit to the mobile clinic in January, Julie Hetherington, APRN, gave him asthma medication on the spot. The clinic also helped him apply for a patient assistance program that allows him to get the medication at no cost. Unlike other medications he tried in the past that were effective for only a short time, Maynor’s breathing was markedly improved – and stayed that way.
During a follow up visit in February, he told the clinic staff and volunteers that his breathing was the best it had been in years and he was able to start exercising. By summer he was playing soccer with his two older boys and was able to go in a swimming pool for the first time in 14 years. Before the new treatment regimen, the cold water made his lungs hurt.
“I’ve got more energy to play with my kids – it changed my life,” said Maynor, a father of three who works in an automotive shop. “It all started with the good treatment I had here on the mobile clinic.”
He visits the clinic every month for follow up. “They are not only donating medicine, they are donating opportunities; they are donating life,” Maynor said. “The medicines didn’t only help me, it helped my wife, my kids – everyone around me.”