As Allen continued to wait to hear back from the Veterans Administration, Dr. Janet managed an appointment for him at Grady and he did get a Grady Card just about a month before his cancer diagnosis. He was then diagnosed with Gerd – not the daughter of a Scandinavian giant, but acid reflux disease, which has ginormous heartburn and indigestion, and can lead to damage to the esophageal lining, and happens to be one of two leading causes of esophageal cancer—particularly in American men.

The doctor didn’t tell him that last part. Instead, he prescribed Nexium and Allen discovered he made approximately $500 too much per year for Grady to deem him truly poor when he was assigned his co-pay at $50 and 50% of all services and 100% of all prescriptions. He wasn’t made aware of this until he actually went to pay for his prescription of Nexium and it was a whopping $178.

Two weeks later, on October 1^st, upon a return visit to the same Grady doctor, he discovered he is anemic and had something scary lurking in his prostate and the doctor implored him to immediately have a colonoscopy. Upon learning his co-pay for the exam would be $1,200, Allen blanched, knowing the financial impossibility of that for him, but the doctor was frightening enough that Allen agreed and one was scheduled.

Three days later, on Sunday, October 4^th, Allen was rushed to DeKalb Medical Center emergency room for abdominal pain, and we are back at our beginning.