Help when an accident led to the discovery of a serious illness

Don, a PinnacleCare member, was in a serious car accident. When he received treatment for his injuries, he was shocked to learn those injuries were the least significant of his health problems. He shared how PinnacleCare has helped him connect with the care he needs and provides peace of mind for him and his family during a difficult time.

I was in a car accident last year and was thrown through the windshield. I thought I broke several ribs. When I saw a physician and got X-rays to check my ribs, instead of the physician being worried about my ribs, he found nodules on my lungs. That raised a bunch of questions and a feeling of rising panic on my part. I had gone to the doctor worried about my ribs and left the office worried about something far more serious.

From a patient’s perspective, in a situation like this, you want to be connected with specialists who have all the available information and experience so they can make the best diagnosis and treatment recommendations and that’s what PinnacleCare did for me.

When I talked with my health advisor, I felt like I was talking with a family member. Right away, I felt I was in good hands. She was very empathetic and seemed to completely understand the stress we were under. She calmed me down. My life felt like it was flying apart, but she was this ray of hope reassuring me and taking care of the tactical parts of the process so I could focus on keeping myself as healthy as possible. It was a huge weight lifted off of me and my family and an amazing relief to have someone walking me through the maze of the medical industry.

Thanks to PinnacleCare, I was able to get an appointment with a specialist in 2 to 3 days in my hometown and then quickly get an appointment with a nationally renowned specialist in Denver, which is very difficult because it’s a small facility with only a few beds. PinnacleCare actually gave me recommendations for 5 or 6 doctors, and I ended up using three of them who make up a team that has my best interests at heart. Without PinnacleCare I wouldn’t have known that possibility existed.

During the whole process of my diagnosis and treatment, PinnacleCare was 2 or 3 steps ahead of me in the thinking process, which helped shorten the process of getting into treatment. My advisor constantly followed up with me, asking if there was anything else she could do. I felt I had an advocate who was with me every step of the way. Knowing what I know now, I would never go into a critical illness without PinnacleCare’s support.