Cagney Wenk and his fiancée, Jessica Li, recently welcomed their son, Levon Robbie Wenk, into the world. It wasn’t all joy for the new family, however. Cagney had been recently diagnosed with inoperable, stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Already hospitalized and with three surgeries already performed, Cagney was still determined to be at his son’s birth. His nurses helped make that not only possible, but even threw in something extra special.
So on Sept. 18, when Cagney made his way from the intensive care unit at Boulder Community Hospital to the delivery room — along with his nurse and all his medical equipment — a videographer also arrived to document the occasion. Cagney’s nurses contacted Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep ― an organization that provides remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby ― to take photos of Cagney, Jessica and Levon, according to the photographer and videographer, Sarah Boccolucci, who captured the moments.
Cagney’s tears of joy as he hears his son’s cries for the first time are incredibly moving (it’s only fair to warn you that the video below will likely move you to tears).
Because Cagney is no longer able to work, the family is struggling with hospital bills. They started a donation page on GiveForward.com in hopes of raising $50,000 to help them pay the bills and for daily necessities.
Americans Still Struggle With Medical Debt
Despite national health reform, healthcare costs continue to threaten financial stability for millions of American families. There are various consequences that result from unaffordable healthcare costs. Some people simply forego recommended medical treatment because they can’t afford it. This holds true for both insured and uninsured patients. But there are also financial consequences.
A Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times survey earlier this year found that a majority (58%) of Americans with medical bill problems report they were contacted by a collection agency for unpaid medical bills. These collection accounts can seriously affect consumer credit scores. (You can see if a collection account is affecting your credit by getting your free annual credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com or by reviewing two of your credit scores for free every 30 days on Credit.com.)
Of even greater concern are the strategies used by people to address their medical bills. Six in ten (59%) of those with medical bill problems used all or most of their savings trying to pay these bills, about one-third (34%) took on credit card debt to do so, and about a quarter (26%) withdrew funds from a retirement or college account in order to pay.
Image: Sarah Boccolucci Photography
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