Mitzie Fickling is diabetic and needs a kidney transplant. But despite her serious health conditions, she continues to live at home, where her sister, Verna Cole, and a private nurse can monitor her closely.
"Having her here is an answered prayer," said Verna. "God has been good to us. We know what a blessing looks like and Mitzie is a blessing. Her continued presence with us is a blessing."
Verna says last year Mitzie was at a hospital where she didn't receive proper care. Verna tells Action News she noticed bed sores on her sister and burns on her hands from IV fluid. And that's not all.
"The tubing that she was using for being on the ventilator was so clogged with mucous at one point, they had to replace it because they couldn't clean it," said Verna.
Verna says she tried to get her sister better help at the facility, but to no avail.
"It was heartbreaking," she said. "We were constantly - not just me, we are a family of six - we were constantly at Mitzie's bedside."
Verna says her family then contacted lawyers and healthcare experts to try to get Mitzie relocated. But months later, nothing was happening. That's when Verna contacted Call for Action.
She says within a week the hospital provided other options for Mtizie's care. And she was finally moved to a different facility.
"I even remember the name of the woman I talked to, Bonnie. She was a Godsend," said Verna. "Thank you, thank you. Thank you for the phone calls, for caring, for believing."
We invite you to change lives the way Bonnie does. We can always use more help at Call for Action and you only have to commit to volunteering a few hours a week.
For more information on how to become a volunteer, click here.
And as always, if you have any consumer issue you'd like help getting resolved, our volunteers are here to help you. The CFA hotline number is 1-866-978-4232, that's 1-866-WPVI-CFA.
