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By Greg Cieslewicz
Communications Specialist
WEA Trust
June 2007
I usually use this space to tell you about one of our insurance programs. But this month, I’d like to let Diane Langeberg, a secretary at Tomahawk Elementary in Tomahawk, tell you about the experiences that she and her daughter, Carissa, have had with the WEA Trust.
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Diane and Carissa Langeberg |
By Diane Langeberg
As a parent, you worry about your kids from the day they are born: from their first fever, to the cuts and scratches of everyday life. However, when your child begins to have signs of something out of the ordinary, your life changes.
My daughter Carissa’s symptoms began after two knee surgeries at the age of 14. More than a year after her surgery, Carissa still had intense pain and swelling. After several appointments with doctors and pain specialists, Carissa was diagnosed with chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
CRPS is a condition in which high levels of nerve impulses are sent to an area of your body causing immense pain. Other symptoms include swelling and stiffness of affected joints, burning pain, and reduced mobility. The treatment is a medication injection to nerve areas closest to where the pain is located. It’s important to get the injection in a timely manner from the onset of symptoms, or the symptoms can worsen.
Labor Day weekend of 2006 was a turning point in our battle. Carissa had a pain attack, and with few other options, I took her to an urgent care facility. They did not give her an injection but instead prescribed medication to relax her muscles. Subsequently, Carissa had a reaction to these medications and again ended up back in urgent care.
I shared our situation with our WEA Trust field representative, Tanya Lewison, and she directed me to a care management professional at the Trust. These professionals help members work through issues when diagnosed with a serious condition. Once assigned to your case, these incredible people stay with you – through thick and thin.
Our care manager, Paula Jurrens, helps us with Carissa’s treatment needs, doctor issues, and other things that happen when you are dealing with a serious condition.
On more than one occasion, the telephone would ring and it was Paula “just checking in.” Often these calls would happen at 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. Paula truly cares about Carissa’s (and my) well-being. I cannot stress what a relief it is to have Paula helping us, knowing that I can just pick up the phone and she is there.
With monitoring from professionals at the Trust and the physician’s office, we have been able to keep Carissa’s condition under control.
The Trust talks about how they do things differently. As a mother of a daughter with a serious condition, they not only do things differently – they simply do them the best. I am incredibly appreciative of the work Paula does for my family and thankful that there is a company like the WEA Trust.
Posted October 3, 2007
