Life is unpredictable. No one knows that better than Neighbors’ Medical Clinic patient Susan. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Susan grew up like any other little girl. She graduated from high school and went on to get married and have kids. During that time, Susan also served in the United States Army Reserve. As often happens, life took a turn she hadn’t expected.
Susan and her husband divorced and she found herself struggling to raise two young children. Luckily, she was accepted into the Widow’s Colony in Sand Springs where she received support while she attended college. Susan eventually earned her BS in finance and found she was able to support herself and her family.
Again life threw her a curve ball. In 2007 after several years working in the accounting field Susan was diagnosed with diabetes. No longer the picture of health she once was, Susan struggled to get her disease under control. Unfortunately, there were even more challenges to come. Managing diabetes is difficult, but managing it with no health insurance is even more challenging. This was the situation Susan found herself in when in 2008 she lost her job. In addition to the health challenges she faced, she now had to figure out how to survive financially.
Susan called and visited a number of other medical clinics in town before she found Neighbors. In some cases she was not chosen during the selection process or in others had to wait several hours for care or medication refills. Eventually Susan found her way to the clinic at Neighbors Along The Line and was immediately impressed with the kindness and care she received. “I never felt like a second-class citizen,” she says. “I actually received better care at Neighbors than I did when I previously had health insurance.” The stress-free intake process and overall atmosphere seemed to be the silver lining in the clouds for Susan during what she describes as one of the most difficult times in her life.
In 2011 Susan found a contract job with Conoco Phillips; however she still did not have health insurance. During that time she made regular trips from Bartlesville to use our clinic. Susan says, “I always felt like the doctors genuinely took an interest in my health…these are the only doctors I actually like.” When Susan was later hired full-time and received health benefits she knew she didn’t want to lose the relationship she’d built with the doctors she visited at Neighbors. As a result, she sought them out in their private practice and selected them as her providers through her insurance company.
“I refer everyone I know to the Neighbors clinic because I know they are in good hands,” Susan says. Her only wish for Neighbors is that we would expand our clinic times so more people could benefit from what we offer.