MODESTO (KTXL) — It was an impassioned plea on social media that helped a Modesto woman secure what she called a life-saving surgery.
An official claim denial notice from Kaiser Permanente meant a virtual death sentence for Corinne Cline.
“This currently is the worst infection I’ve ever had because it’s constantly on the verge of going septic,” Cline told KTXL.
The Modesto mother of five had been given just 30 minutes to live at birth. She says she was diagnosed with a rare kidney defect, which means her right kidney has never worked properly.
For the past seven years, Cline says she was given stints and antibiotics but was never given the option for surgery from Kaiser.
“So for them to tell me that antibiotics are going to be my life and not surgery, yes that is the cheapest route, but eventually that’s going to kill me,” Cline said.
She added she’s not allowed to be alone because she could pass out and carries a device attached to her kidney that helps flush out the toxins.
In the last two months alone she’s been to the emergency room 13 times.
“I’ve developed reflux where everything goes back up in the kidney and just sits in there, and it’s just like a petri dish of growing bacteria,” Cline said.
Cline says there was some hope when Kaiser recently referred her to University of California, San Francisco. A doctor there told her they should perform a nephrectomy, where surgeons would remove the sick kidney.
But Cline explains Kaiser said no.
“We had to find out there’s a lot of red tape we had to go through and that wasn’t made very apparent to us at the beginning,” said Cline’s husband, Chad.
Frustrated, Corinne Cline took to social media. Within days, the executives at Kaiser changed their minds and now her surgery is a go. Corwin Harper, the senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente Central Valley, said in a statement:
“Our priority is Ms. Cline’s health and well-being and we are continuing to work closely with her and her family to provide the care and support she needs.
Treatment decisions are based on the individual care needs of each patient, and involve close communication between patients and their care team. We encourage all of our members and patients to engage with their clinicians to discuss their treatment options. As with all health plans in California, our members have access to formal processes for appeal and review.
Because of privacy laws, we cannot comment on the specifics of Ms. Cline’s care.”
With good health ahead of her, Corinne Cline now wants to help families in similar situations.
“I believe I’ve been given a second chance at life and I don’t feel like that is just for me and my family,” she said.
Corinne Cline stressed that the medical staff at Kaiser has been great. She just wants insurance companies like Kaiser to save lives, not just save money.