“At Operation Access, I was treated with kindness and respect. Thank you.”

Yovany felt like his life was crumbling. He frequently experienced acute stomach pains which impacted his employment and his time with his family. Occasionally, he also found blood in his stool. The father of five girls, his health concerns coincided with additional challenges his family faced: one of his daughters was dealing with bullying and sexual harassment at school, and at work, Yovany was demoted to part-time. His personal challenges and economic distress took a toll on him physically and emotionally. Yovany, in pain and constantly fatigued, felt unable to support his wife in running their home or in taking his daughters to school each day.

Health concerns were not new to Yovany. When he was just eight years old, his childhood doctor performed an upper endoscopy (EGD), to examine the lining of his upper GI tract. At such a young age, he did not understand why he needed this procedure, but the memory of the incident left an impression on him. He grasped that his GI health might be a problem someday.

Years later, when he began experiencing debilitating pain, constant fatigue, and bleeding, he worried he might have cancer, and he sought help at Marin Community Clinics (MCC). There, Dr. Jonathan Pritikin, aware Yovany had undergone hemorrhoid treatment five years earlier, told him he might be suffering from hemorrhoids again and that further tests were necessary to rule out cancer. Dr. Pritikin recommended another EGD.

The COVID-19 pandemic complicated matters. Yovany was unable to schedule an in-person appointment with his PCP at MCC for additional care related to the fatigue, chest palpitations, and depression he was also suffering. Eventually, his PCP was able to schedule him for lab work, the results confirmed high blood pressure and anemia, in addition to his ongoing GI issues.

Yovany did not qualify for Medi-Cal and his employer did not provide health insurance. He also could not afford to self-insure, which meant treatment would result in high medical debt that would adversely affect his family. Fortunately, Dr. Pritikin referred him to our program, and we matched him with Dr. Vikram Malladi at Marin Gastroenterology, who performed an EGD and a colonoscopy to assess his symptoms.

Thankfully, the colonoscopy revealed no polyps and neither the colonoscopy nor the EGD procedures indicated cancer. The screenings did confirm the recurrence of hemorrhoids. Yovany’s PCP at MCC also prescribed medication to treat his anemia and depression.

Reflecting on his care through our program and from MCC, Yovany expressed gratitude, sharing that he “appreciates the resources and support he received.” He is relieved that cancer was ruled out, his anemia is under control, and his mental health has improved.

According to Yovany, “at Operation Access, I was treated with kindness and respect. Thank you.”

Story and photo shared with patient’s permission.