WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Tony Valdez says the West Valley City community has come to know and love his mother, Maria, during the 30 years his family has lived there.
“My mother was always very caring, nurturing and welcoming,” Valdez said. “For years, my friends, my family, anyone who would come over to my house right away, my mom would welcome them with such a big heart and hospitality, serve them food, cook for them.” I made it.
Recently, due to her epilepsy, she had a severe seizure and fell and split her head open.
“The doctors recommended that she need to see a specialist, a neurologist,” Valdez said. “Even if you go to a simple clinic, there are no specialized doctors who can treat your condition.”
Maria has been through the years-long process of becoming a legal U.S. citizen but has no health insurance.
“For my mom, it’s just a struggle with the sleep deprivation and the side effects, and then the financial issues and the stress of the whole legalization process hit. Imagine what’s going on in her head. I can’t even do that,” Valdez said.
The so-called “Utah Model of Care,” announced Tuesday by Gov. Spencer Cox and health officials, will become more affordable by expanding office hours and telehealth services, hiring more non-clinical staff and emphasizing preventive care. We aim to keep the price reasonable. However, they expect it will take more than a decade for the plan to be implemented. Until then, people like Maria’s family are now doing everything they can to find help.
“My best friend who created the GoFundMe page loves my mom,” Valdez said. “And from that day on, a lot of people started contacting me, and they just wanted to help her. They wanted to help her get the treatment that she needed. ”
Valdez said she wishes she didn’t have to seek help from the community, but it was her mother’s only option for recovery.
“We are dealing with this unfortunate event and we are in the process and do not have insurance,” he said. “It’s a scary process that we’re going through right now.”
