Jerry
Jerry has a good story to tell. It spans a decade, it changed care for a lot of people in Arizona, and it begins at his chiropractor in 1999.
“My chiropractor took a few routine X-rays of my back and discovered I had an aneurysm on my aorta. He was very kind in how he let me know. He didn’t tell me how much danger I was in, but he suggested I see a vascular surgeon. Soon.”
As a former professor, Jerry knows how to conduct his own research, which is what he did before visiting Dr. Scott Berman, a vascular surgeon at Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital. At the time, he explains, there were two procedures for handling an aneurysm like his. One way was a conventional procedure that involved invasive surgery with recovery times that could be several months. The newer procedure, called a stent graft, was minimally invasive and practiced by only a few hospitals around the country. It could reduce a patient’s recovery time from several months to a few weeks with a hospital stay of only a couple days. Jerry was sold on the new procedure.
Over the next several months, Jerry and Dr. Berman discussed the risks and benefits of the newer procedure. “Let’s be pioneers together,” Jerry recalls telling him. But when Jerry’s insurance provider refused to pay for the operation, Dr. Berman approached the insurance board. He explained the long-term benefits of the new procedure, which convinced the insurance provider to allow coverage for the minimally invasive operation. Jerry became the first patient in Arizona to be covered for this new procedure.
On February 28, 2000, Dr. Berman operated on Jerry. Two and half days later Jerry was released. “It was kinda comical in a way,” Jerry chuckles. “The nurse’s kept peeking into my room, calling me ‘Berman’s Big Case.’”
“I feel like I played a little part in history, which I feel gratified by,” Jerry says. We agree. Because of Jerry’s and Dr. Berman’s commitment to quality care, many more patients in Southern Arizona now have access to affordable, quality care.