Hospital bills mounting: Community servants now need the community’s help - WSLS 10

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SALEM – Two community servants are now in need of the community’s help. A local firefighter and school teacher now faces insurmountable hospital bills after the birth of their first-born son. Amy Keister, an employee with Salem Fire-EMS and Deputy Chief Matthew Rickman are working to help take donations for the Schaeffer family. Not only have expenses piled up after requiring fertility treatments to conceive their son, complications after birth continue.

Both Rickman and Keister are working to spread their story via a GoFundMe account that has raised around $15,000 within it’s first 12-hours online.

Their story was shared online and sent to 10 News:

" C.J. & Samantha Schaffer are both public servants in the Roanoke Valley. C.J. is a career firefighter and paramedic, Samantha is an elementary school educator. After years of marriage, starting a family was filled with peaks and valleys. Seeking help from fertility specialist, they were able to experience the news that their efforts to conceive a child had come true. These fertility treatments are considered elective and not covered by insurance. These treatments are very expensive and left them with a large bill. That did not matter to them, because they had their prayers answered.

After a healthy, but less than normal pregnancy with COVID-19 and social distancing from loved ones, Samantha and C.J. had a healthy baby boy. Anderson James was born healthy and at full-term. However, the problems for Samantha were just beginning. Having some complications immediately after birth, Samantha was swept away to the operating room for life saving surgery. Her condition resulted in being cared for in the surgical intensive care (SICU). Samantha’s situation was tenuous, being left in acute renal failure, nearly blind in one eye and without contact with baby Anderson, there was an uphill climb in front of her.

Doctors in the SICU quickly realized the need to transfer Samantha to Charlottesville, Virginia for more specialized care. Before Samantha was transferred, she began receiving renal dialysis to filter toxins from her blood due to her renal disease. She also was able to hold Anderson for the first time just hours before being transferred.

In Charlottesville, renal specialist continued with a battery of tests and the continuation of renal dialysis to help stabilize and potentially restart Samantha’s kidneys. The efforts allowed the doctors to arrive at a diagnosis of HELLP syndrome, but her condition remained after treatments.

After some time in Charlottesville, C.J. and Samantha were in a position to be discharged home with a permanent dialysis port and a renal dialysis schedule of three times a week, four hours each day. She would also need to see a retina specialist to work on restoring her vision and hematology/oncology visits for infusions of medication to help restart kidney function. Her discharge also meant that she and C.J. could be home with baby Anderson and care for him like any new parent should.

C.J. and Samantha are modest, hardworking people that deserve a break in life. Their medical bills and associated costs seem insurmountable. They remain steadfast in their faith and take happiness in their time together with baby Anderson. However, their course as new parents is anything but ordinary.”

Donate to the couples GoFundMe here.

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Hospital bills mounting: Community servants now need the community’s help - WSLS 10
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