Care Chronicles: Meet Richard

Patient Story: Richard

Richard Helvey got in his car and drove south toward sunny Florida for what he hoped would be a fresh start. He stopped and settled in Largo, but without a job. Soon he was living in his car and his health was deteriorating. Diagnosed with diabetes years earlier, he could no longer afford his medications and with crippling kidney pain, numbness in his feet and other effects of uncontrolled diabetes.

The CFC gave him the medications and care he needed to get better – all of which were free of charge. We gave him a medical home to return to. Richard came to the Clinic sick, overwhelmed and embarrassed by his circumstances, but he soon felt a renewed sense of empowerment. His medical conditions are under control, and after working three part-time jobs, one turned into full-time employment. He now happily lives in his rented apartment.

Without the Clearwater Free Clinic, “I probably would have crawled up somewhere and died,” he somberly expressed. Instead, Richard is counting his blessings. He will soon be insured through his employer and considered a Clearwater Free Clinic graduate.