Our Patients Share Their Stories

Access OC is continuously changing lives by bringing people out of pain, back to work, and able to take care of their families. We are driven by the huge need that exists in Orange County as we have received over 200 patient referrals from the community clinics. With your help we will continue changing lives.

Carlos

For over two years, 51 year old Carlos Alveal lived with a severe pain in his groin and lower abdomen area. Carlos is a maintenance worker, an occupation that involves a good deal of heavy lifting. He struggled not to miss work, but sometimes the pain of pushing the maintenance cart was simply too much to bear causing him to leave work early. He sought a solution to his problem by visiting the Central City Community Health Center in Anaheim, CA. The physician diagnosed him with an inguinal hernia that required surgery. Knowing that the cost of such a procedure would be a significant burden upon Carlos and his family, the physician mentioned Access OC's free surgery program.

After being referred to Access OC, Carlos was scheduled to have his surgery at our Kaiser Permanente Surgery Day in April 2010. After an initial consultation with the surgeon, he was deemed too high risk to have the operation because of his weight. Instead of being discouraged, Carlos vowed to become healthy enough for surgery. Working with Access OC, he and his family changed their eating habits and introduced aerobic exercise into their lives. After months of hard work and diligence, Carlos was able to lose over 50 pounds and became eligible for surgery! His free surgery was performed at the Kaiser Permanente Surgery Day in September 2010. Today, Carlos is a healthy man that believes it was a miracle to have lost the excess weight and to have undergone the surgery. He immensely thanks Access OC for restoring his ability to work and for setting him on the path to a healthy lifestyle.

Maria

Imagine feeling so much pain that you had to stop working. That is the case with Maria Del Rosario Martinez who had noticed a lump develop in her left abdominal area. Maria works cleaning homes and her job only increased the pain and swelling forcing her to stop working. In hopes of some help Maria went to Share Our Selves Free Medical Clinic where she was seen Dr. Pereyda and notified that she needed surgery for an inguinal hernia. Maria could not afford a surgery but was relieved to learn of Access OC, who she says "guided me through the whole process and calmed my fears of having surgery." Maria was able to have her hernia repaired at the first annual Sugery Day at Kaiser Permanente in May of 2007. Today she is so satisfied with her surgery that she refers friends in need of an operation.

Santiago

A free surgery is too good to be true! That is what Santiago Loeza Rojas thought, a 38 year old resident of Garden Grove who had been feeling severe soreness in his left abdomen. Santiago works in a restaurant and his job demands that he carry heavy pots, so his pain only increased over time. He sought care at Share Our Selves Free Medical Clinic where Dr. Margarita Pereyda informed him that he had an inguinal hernia that required surgery. Santiago works full time and earns minimum wage and he explains, "I felt like I needed to wait until my problem was so severe that I had to go to the emergency room." Santiago was referred to Access OC and at first he felt that Access OC was too good to be true because he could not fathom that a free surgery program existed. In 2007 he successfully underwent surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Surgery Center and now he laughs at the fact he was so skeptical. Santiago recalls the Super Saturday Surgery event as, "a day full of great people and excellent care, learning about Access OC was like a door opening up in my life."

Lidia

For four years Lidia Rivera, a 57 year old resident of Santa Ana experienced pain on the right side of her back. The pain became so unbearable that she was not even able to move her arm. She visited her community clinic, Puente a la Salud and was diagnosed with a full tear of the supraespinatus tendon. Since the date of her diagnosis she tried to have her surgery but she could not afford it. Lidia took pain medication for four years because it was the only way she could bear the situation. She was previously employed as a nanny, but she had to leave her job because she was not able to carry the children that she cared for. On November 3, 2007 Lidia underwent arthroscopic surgery at St. Jude Outpatient Medical Center and today she says, "The dream of being able to have my surgery has come true and I am forever grateful to Access OC."

Graciela

Graciela Morales is a single mother of two who provides for her children by babysitting but she had to stop working because of the unbearable pain of an umbilical hernia. Ten years ago while pregnant with her second child, she developed a hernia. What started out as a small pea sized ball, as she describes it, developed into a grapefruit sized hernia. She went to several doctors in the span of 10 years to address the issue, but with expensive doctor fees she was forced to pay every time. She did not have much of a choice than to live with this hernia. Coincidentally, a friend of Graciela's, Maria Del Rosario Martinez, a former Access OC patient told her about the program. Soon after Graciela visited Share Our Selves Free Medical Clinic and was referred to Access OC. Months later Dr. Hurwitz successfully operated on Graciela at Hoag Hospital. Today she expresses, "the doctor was great, he is an angel sent from heaven... I've never met a nicer doctor. Thanks to him and to your program I am healthy and able to go back to work."

Joseph

Joseph Wilson is 55 years old and loves to exercise. Two years ago, he was exercising and felt a painful lump. Immediately, he saw his doctor at Huntington Beach Community Cares Clinic who said he had an inguinal hernia and needed surgery. Being self-employed he does not have any insurance because he cannot afford the premiums. In fact, he did not qualify for individual insurance because of pre-existing conditions. He was not able to exercise for two years because of the pain. Since he received the diagnosis, he wondered how he was going to pay for the surgery before it got worst. Thanks to Access OC and the volunteers at St. Jude Medical Center, he had the hernia repaired and was able to get back to work and return to his healthy lifestyle.