This is what I want to say, but I feel as if I have no
voice. This is to the lawyers, insurance adjusters, etc. who have been working
hard at making my life miserable. That’s just my opinion.
Five years ago, my husband was injured on the job. From the
moment I saw him after that injury, my life was forever changed. I had to
re-teach my husband the alphabet. I had to explain that he was a year and a
month behind in his memories. I had to show him pictures and tell him stories
of the things we had done and the places we had gone. I had to help him
remember to shut off the stove when he wanted to cook. I had to hope that when
he took the dogs for a walk, he would remember how to get back home. One day he
couldn’t remember how to get home. We used to love to window shop. I soon saw
my husband curled up on the floor of the mall because he couldn’t handle it
anymore.
Six months into the injury, he was finally approved for
Rehab Without Walls. I was so relieved seeing him start to get better. They
were teaching him how to retrain his brain and lots of other things. Then the
two week trial ended and didn’t get renewed. That’s the last improvement I ever
saw from my husband. Things consistently got worse. Soon we had to purchase a
motorized scooter, so he could attend day trips with the family. We had to plan
family times to only be two to three hours because he would pass out randomly
after that amount of time.
The last four months of his life were getting really bad. I
had to acknowledge that I no longer had a husband who could help me. I had a
husband who was physically there but not much else. His memory was horrendous.
He had false memories. He had many gaps in his memory. The kids felt like he
didn’t love them because he couldn’t remember what they said.
The last week and a half of his life was the worst thing I
have ever seen. He was constantly shaking. He had problems walking… Imagine being
woken up at 2am by your husband who is stuck in the living room. He can’t move
his feet. He’s stuck half way between the kitchen and the living room. He’s
shaking so hard that his snuggie is falling off, and he can’t move to put it
back on. I tried to help him move, but he just fell against a wall. How is a 5’
woman supposed to move a 6’ man? I know. This is just an emotional rant now.
I was told by the doctor who was with him when he died, that
I should have expected my husband to have a heart attack. I was told by another
doctor (after my husband died) that these things that were happening to him
during his last days were symptoms of a pending heart attack. These are things
I heard after he died. I had done everything I could to get these symptoms
checked. I rushed him to a doctor to be seen. I was told that they would ask
the insurance adjuster again, but that was all he could do. While waiting to
get these symptoms checked, my husband died. These were symptoms that had been
with him since the beginning of the injury. I have gone back and looked at his
records and can see where the doctor made a note of his shaking. Of course, by
the time he died the shaking was much more intense. I often wonder what would
have happened if we had received longer Rehab Without Wall. I also wonder what
would have happened if the doctor requests were approved instead of
consistently being denied.
I feel that an offer of $50,000 is a slap in the face to me
and my children. We are homeless right now because of what has happened with my
husband. We are still trying to piece our lives together. We lost almost
everything. Everything I own is in two storage units and a bedroom that my kids
and I live in. I know it’s not your job to care, but a fair offer would be four
and a half years of permanent disability instead of two years. Another
reasonable offer would be four and a half years of the salary he lost when he
was injured. If you truly want to pretend that you understand your part in my
husband’s disability, you could even offer a realistic amount of money.
Let me introduce you to my family. We were happy. We helped
out in our community. We loved each other. Now the father is dead. The mother
is having to learn how to be a single mom, juggling work with taking care of
the kids. The son is trying to be the man of the family now even though he lost
his childhood early. The daughter has extreme anxiety and cannot see a doctor
or therapist about it because it causes panic attacks. This is what I’m
striving for. I would love to have a realistic settlement, so I can focus on
raising my kids. I want to have time to be able to show and teach my son how to
be a man. I want to be able to show my daughter that life is safe because we
have a home to live in.
One last thing. I feel that for four and a half years we
fought so hard to be heard and helped. We were honest and truthful. We didn’t
make up things to try to get more money. We lived on what we were given. We got
rid of most of our bills including TV and internet. We worked on being
satisfied with what we had. I feel that you thought that we weren’t being
honest. Almost every doctor we dealt with saw who my husband was and saw his
disability. They all agreed that we were honest about what was going on. I can
show you proof through pictures and videos of the things I have been describing
as symptoms of his disability. We have been consistently honest, and I would
like you to acknowledge that by offering a reasonable settlement. That’s it. I
have tried to write this without a ton of emotions, but I am angry and hurt. It’s
only been 9 months. I am still working on figuring out my “new normal”
life. JOY
