Home > Gwinnett > Rick Badie / My Opinion > Archives > 2008 > May > 24
Saturday, May 24, 2008
When life flips on a dime
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
They were doing just fine till he got sick.
Now Chuck Peavy is in Emory University Hospital, waiting to get a new heart. Cindi, his wife of 15 years has about run herself ragged. She’s juggling everything, taking care of their kids - 2-year-old twins and a 5-year-old-daughter. And traveling between the hospital and their home in Snellville.
When we talked, Cindi, 43, had a hard time remembering the kinds of things reporters need to know for a story. Facts.
“I’m tired,” she told me.
The family’s life flipped on a dime about several years ago. Chuck, now 46, came upstairs. He couldn’t talk or lift his arms. He did that typical guy thing where we don’t want to seek medical help.
Cindi called 911.
Chuck had had a stroke. Fortunately, it left no residual effects.
“We were lucky,” Cindi told me. “Really, really lucky.”
Then, in the spring of 2004 or 2005 - Cindi can’t remember when - it happened again. Chuck was in a bank when he his arms went numb. This time, a heart ailment was detected. Chuck’s heart had to work harder than it should to pump blood from chamber to chamber. He also had an irregular heartbeat. He was put on meds and told he’d live a relatively normal life.
Chuck kept getting sicker, though, one thing after another. Bronchitis. Sinus infection. Barely enough energy to get off the sofa.
Last year, Cindi was at a weekend women’s retreat when she got a telephone call. Chuck was in the emergency room. He’d been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
“That kind of came out of the blue,” Cindi told me, noting that Chuck had no history of blockage or high cholesterol.
Dr. Javed Butler, his physician, said Chuck apparently contracted a virus that had damaged his heart. That happens often.
“Not rare at all,” Butler told me. “That’s the case in 30 to 40 percent of heart patients.”
In January, Chuck was admitted into Crawford Long Hospital where he had open heart surgery. He has since been moved to Emory University Hospital and is on the wait list for a heart transplant.
Before Chuck took ill, he was a service writer for Ford of Stone Mountain. Cindi worked as a marketing manager, but she’s quit that job to devote time to family. They pay $850 a month for a COBRA health plan.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Cindi said. “We recently qualified for disability and just got that going.”
But it’s not enough.
Cindi didn’t belabor the issue, but neighbor Barbara Myers says the Peavy’s could use your help. As in meals, baby-sitting services and money. Especially money. They’ve drained their accounts.
“All their savings are gone,” Myers told me.
Post-transplant expenses alone could top $100,000. Chuck will have to take anti-rejection drugs the rest of his life, and they are expensive.
For now, neighbors chip in where they can. And on Saturday, neighborhood kids Allie Myers, Gracie Abercrombie, Lindsey Thrift and Chandler Malone were to hold a benefit bake sale. An account has been set up for the family at Bank of America. Donations for the Peavy Family Fund may be made at any branch location.
‘They definitely need the help,” Myers said.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (31) | Post your comment | Categories: Rick Badie
