For those of you who couldn't make it to the 5K, you should know that it was a wonderful success. It was so great to see so many friends of the Ortons gather together, full of excitement, united in purpose and hoping to make a small difference. There were delicious baked goods, gobs and gobs of donated bagels (thank you, Einsteins!!!) and balloons (thank you, Party America!!) and over 80 runners/walkers showing their love and support. The race itself was really challenging, at least for most of us :) There were never-ending inclines and declines. But every single person that started it, finished it. And there, at the finish line, were Jared and Crystal, thanking everyone for their support. It was awesome.
We raised a total of $2655!!!
The next weeks/months were spent applying for financial aid, sorting through seemingly endless bills, and haggling on the phone with hospital directors, dr.s' office billing departments, and customer service representatives. We had NO idea how much power CA$H has with medical creditors--it was amazing! The money we raised from the 5K--the $2655--was miraculously enough to completely pay off 6 separate accounts originally totalling over $9,000!!
And even more amazing is the miracle that happened when Jared and Crystal applied to the Charity Department at Sky Ridge. They had hoped to reduce their bill--it was well over $30,000--by at least half. They found the right representative at the right time, and the Charity Department there has taken extremely good care of them, reducing their biggest bill by over 90%!!
Five months ago the Ortons were facing over $40,000 in medical bills. Today, thanks to your support, your love, your prayers, and amazing charity programs, their TOTAL bill is now $1,700.
Jared's health is 100%. He's still doing what he loves--saving lives--but he's also decided to go back to school, part time, to finish his Bachelor's Degree.
When I asked Crystal if there was anything she wanted to include in this post she replied:
"We are so extremely grateful to all of our family and friends who never stop showing their love and support. We couldn't have gone through all of this without all of your help. We are in awe of the support that has been shown through this rough time and have no words to express how truly grateful we are. Thank you!"
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Meet Jared Orton
Apart from being an outstanding husband and father, Jared is a EMT for Action Care Ambulance. Jared's been in the business of saving lives for over 9 years because, as he puts it, "I fell in love with it as a teenager, and have been addicted to it ever since. I don't think I'll ever get it out of my system" 
On June 8th, Jared started to feel really sick. He spent the next week getting progresivly worse each day. Knowing that his family had no health insurance, he felt he couldn't go to the doctor. On June 15th he went to work, but didn't feel good and had one of the paramedics check his vitals. His resting heart rate was 122 beats/minute. They figured he was dehydrated, so they gave him some fluids and sent him home. Within a few hours Jared became extremely jaundiced. Crystal, his wife, took one look at him and knew he needed urgent medical attention. So, in spite of the fact that they don't have insurance, and in spite of the bills that they would surely incur, she insisted that he go to the hospital.
After checking his white blood cell count, liver levels and bilirubin count, he was immediately admitted. Test after test after test was inconclusive. The CT scan showed that his spleen was six times its original size, his liver was obviously not functioning, and there was no explanation for all of this. Meanwhile, the hours at the hospital were passing, and the medical bills, lab bills, radiology bills were all quickly adding up.
Finally, four days after being admitted, the doctors concluded that Jared has a rare form of mononucleosis paired with the Epstein-Barr virus, which were what was taking such a serious toll on his liver. He was released with some simple instructions to drink lots of fluids and prepare for a long, slow and hard recovery.
Jared is home now and has been since June 18th. As the doctors predicted, the recovery has been very slow. Jared's sick leave expired the 3rd day he was in the hospital. His paid time-off expired on days 4 and 5. He has now gone 7 days without pay--amounting to about $600 in lost income, which is almost enough to have paid the mortgage on their little town-home. But their mortgage payment seems like nothing compared to the $30,000 in medical/hospital bills they've already received in the mail!
On June 8th, Jared started to feel really sick. He spent the next week getting progresivly worse each day. Knowing that his family had no health insurance, he felt he couldn't go to the doctor. On June 15th he went to work, but didn't feel good and had one of the paramedics check his vitals. His resting heart rate was 122 beats/minute. They figured he was dehydrated, so they gave him some fluids and sent him home. Within a few hours Jared became extremely jaundiced. Crystal, his wife, took one look at him and knew he needed urgent medical attention. So, in spite of the fact that they don't have insurance, and in spite of the bills that they would surely incur, she insisted that he go to the hospital.After checking his white blood cell count, liver levels and bilirubin count, he was immediately admitted. Test after test after test was inconclusive. The CT scan showed that his spleen was six times its original size, his liver was obviously not functioning, and there was no explanation for all of this. Meanwhile, the hours at the hospital were passing, and the medical bills, lab bills, radiology bills were all quickly adding up.
Finally, four days after being admitted, the doctors concluded that Jared has a rare form of mononucleosis paired with the Epstein-Barr virus, which were what was taking such a serious toll on his liver. He was released with some simple instructions to drink lots of fluids and prepare for a long, slow and hard recovery.
Jared is home now and has been since June 18th. As the doctors predicted, the recovery has been very slow. Jared's sick leave expired the 3rd day he was in the hospital. His paid time-off expired on days 4 and 5. He has now gone 7 days without pay--amounting to about $600 in lost income, which is almost enough to have paid the mortgage on their little town-home. But their mortgage payment seems like nothing compared to the $30,000 in medical/hospital bills they've already received in the mail!
So, what can you do to help Jared and Crystal???
Join us for the Orton Family 5k Run/Walk!
(All the info is on the sidebar of this page).
When I asked Jared what the best part about his job was, he said, "I love having a job where whatever happens, at the end of the day, I know I've done something good."
This is our chance to do something good for him.
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