Patient with Autoimmune Disease Drives to Life-Changing Care

November 19, 2024

Patient with autoimmune disease who drove to life-changing care, thanks to gas cards

Living with an Autoimmune Disease

Sarai lives in a rural area of Washington State. This is great for scenery and peace in nature, but terrible for her ongoing medical care. If something goes wrong with her health, she has to drive three hours to the hospital and three hours back home. And something has been going wrong with her health - very wrong.

Sarai was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, also known as SLE or lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disease - in other words, the immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues of Sarai's body instead of just attacking pathogens. It's led to a decline in her quality of life, and she can't work.

From Problems...

Sarai needs infusions of medication at the hospital, to treat the symptoms of lupus. Getting to and from the hospital means a six-hour round trip in the car. It's difficult for her to afford the cost of gas for such a long trip. The care that was improving her quality of life was out of reach and out of her budget. She needed assistance, but didn't know where to turn.

...To Promise

That was when Sarai found out about Mercy Medical Angels' charitable ground transportation program. Mercy Medical Angels sent her gas cards. Now she could pay for travel expenses - and receive the life-changing care she needed.