A Great Adventure
Businessman and philanthropist Richard Branson once said, “If happiness is the goal — and it should be — then adventures should be a priority.” After a lifetime of living in Arizona, Irene and her husband, Wally, decided to embark on an adventure of their own. Retired, they moved north and settled in a scenic Oregon beach town just off the coast.
“We thought, ‘Let’s do something new,’” she said. “We have a view of the ocean, so that’s nice.”
It didn’t take long for the pair to love Oregon. Within a year, they joined a church community and found plenty to do. When they’re not entertaining visiting family members, Wally loves to walk the dog by the ocean while Irene digs into her family’s history. As a paralegal for almost 41 years, Irene employs her investigative skills for her new hobby. She and a group of her distant cousins share their genealogy findings during a monthly phone call.
“I love to do genealogy,” Irene said. “I’m on the computer researching trying to dig up dead people.”
In 2019, when Irene was still working full-time, she was diagnosed with scleroderma and pulmonary hypertension, a condition that required her to wear oxygen around the clock. Around the same time, she suffered a bad fall, which required a month of physical therapy.
“I had no idea what pulmonary hypertension was,” she said. “I try to be a positive person, but it was not a fun time.”
While Irene worked, her employer-based insurance covered most of the costs of her treatment, which amounted to over $10,000 a month. But when Irene’s health forced her to retire earlier than she’d planned, she worried about how she would access her treatment.
“I was actually talking to the doctor about decreasing the medication,” she said. “The deductibles wouldn’t be bad if I was still working full-time, but when you’re retired, your income goes way down.”
One of Irene’s doctors referred her to The Assistance Fund’s (TAF’s) Pulmonary Hypertension Copay Assistance Program. From copays to deductibles and coinsurance, the financial assistance Irene receives from TAF covers out-of-pocket costs for the FDA-approved treatment she needs to manage her pulmonary hypertension.
“I tell people about TAF all the time,” she said. “It’s a big stress reliever on my soul to not have to worry each month.”
Now, Irene’s treatment keeps her health stabilized. Without the stress of worrying about how to pay for her medication, Irene has more time to do what she loves: gardening, going to estate sales with Wally, and finding the next adventure.
“There are a lot of old people on the coast!” Irene said. “We just have fun.”
