Guiding Deborah through a life-threatening infection

Video transcript

[Soft music playing]

[Scenes from a city, including busy streets and sidewalks]

[Sounds from the city, including sirens]

[Deborah standing on a street corner]

DEBORAH VOICEOVER: I could have easily died from the infection that I caught.

[DEBORAH SPEAKING ON SCREEN]

Crystal and UnitedHealthcare saved my life.

[String music with a faster tempo]

[Deborah walking through the busy city]

I have a 90 mile an hour life. My pace of life is just never a dull moment. I'm not someone who likes to sit still, so walking is vital to my life.

Text On Screen – Deborah, UnitedHealthcare member

The hip surgery became unavoidable when I could not walk for more than 20 minutes.

[Crystal typing on the laptop and talking on a headset]

CRYSTAL VOICEOVER: [on the phone] Okay, very good.

I'm a registered nurse with UnitedHealthcare in the orthopedic division. I take care of people who are going into orthopedic surgery or who need some orthopedic assistance.

[on the phone] Excellent, I'll go ahead and do that.

[String music with a faster tempo]

[CRYS TAL SPEAKING ON SCREEN]

Text On Screen – Crystal, UnitedHealthcare nurse case manager

When I first talked to Deborah, she came in my queue saying she was going to have an orthopedic surgery. That's when I jump in and do my part.

[DEBORAH SPEAKING ON SCREEN]

DEBORAH: Crystal contacted me about three weeks before my scheduled surgery.

[CRYS TAL SPEAKING ON SCREEN]

CRYSTAL: We just kind of navigate the health care system and just so it's easier for them to get through.

[A city pathway and a boat on the water, transitioning to Deborah walking along the path, with the skyline behind her]

DEBORAH VOICEOVER: Recovering from hip surgery was easy for the first six weeks. And then all of a sudden, my physical therapy doctor noticed my incision was leaking.

[Close up of a wind chime, transitioning to Crystal holding a mug, on a porch looking out over the water]

CRYSTAL: I called her one day and I could tell, her voice was not Deborah. We opened up the portal. She's got a portal that will show her labs.

[DEBORAH SPEAKING ON SCREEN]

DEBORAH: My infection markers were all of a sudden through the roof.

[Deborah looking out of a window at the city, with a close up to her hands clasped together]

[String music with a faster tempo]

CRYSTAL VOICEOVER: This is like septic. This is life-threatening. You've got to get in now.

DEBORAH VOICEOVER: It very likely could have killed me if I hadn't gotten to the hospital in time.

[CRYS TAL SPEAKING ON SCREEN]

CRYSTAL: I'm calling the medical director, I'm calling her doctor. I'm finding out what they're doing at the hospital, who the case manager is, what kind of meds is she getting.

[Softer music with a slower tempo]

[Sounds of the wind and water moving]

[Deborah standing on a city pathway overlooking the water and city skyline]

DEBORAH VOICEOVER: Crystal fought for me and she made sure that I was being given all the right care.

[Crystal walking down the city street, approaching Deborah on the city pathway]

CRYSTAL VOICEOVER: I just thought of just doing my job. That's what we do.

[Deborah and Crystal greeting each other and talking]

DEBORAH: Oh, Crystal. So good to meet you.

CRYSTAL: Thank you so much for doing this. Oh my goodness.

DEBORAH VOICEOVER: UnitedHealthcare and Crystal put my health first, cared about my well-being and that I got the best care possible.

[Deborah and Crystal clasping hands]

My mother went to nursing school in Minnesota and Crystal also went to nursing school in Minnesota, and I felt an immediate connection with her.

[Deborah tearing up]

And because my mom wasn't here to help me through the crisis, the way she normally would be, I felt that she sent Crystal to me as kind of a health care guardian angel.

[Deborah and Crystal talking on the city pathway]

CRYSTAL VOICEOVER: She needed to know that somebody really cared. And her insurance case manager did.

[Deborah and Crystal talking on the city pathway]

CRYSTAL: You were worth it, by the way. You were worth it.

DEBORAH: Oh, gosh.

CRYSTAL: Don’t ever forget that.

Text On Screen – UHC, uhc.com

In the backdrop of New York City, Deborah’s life moves at the electric pace of the city itself – vibrant, busy and always in motion.

“My pace of life is just never a dull moment. I am a PhD building artificial intelligence solutions, so my days are packed with non-stop activity and back-to-back meetings,” Deborah said. “As someone who doesn’t like sitting still, walking has become a favorite pastime.” Often, it’s how she gets from place to place in the bustling city. But that all changed when a sharp pain in her hip began to slow her down. Step by step, it worsened, until she couldn’t walk more than 20 minutes without unbearable pain. Eventually, Deborah chose to have a full hip replacement. She hoped this would help her move easier and get back to enjoying the city she lives in.

Once she was scheduled for surgery, Crystal, a nurse case manager from UnitedHealthcare reached out to Deborah. Crystal helps people who are having orthopedic surgeries. She helps make things easier by guiding members through what to expect before surgery, getting approvals and supporting them during their recovery.

Right away, they felt a special bond. Deborah’s mom, who has since passed away, attended nursing school in Minnesota, where Crystal also went to nursing school. For Deborah, Crystal became much more than a guide through her procedure — she’s who Deborah credits for saving her life.

A few weeks after surgery, just as Deborah was starting to feel like herself again, things took a sudden and dangerous turn.

“My physical therapy doctor noticed my incision was leaking,” Deborah said.

Her surgical site was infected. This put her at risk for a serious health problem called sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition where the body has an extreme response to an infection. Instead of fighting the infection normally, the body’s response goes out of balance and starts to damage its own tissues and organs.¹

During a follow-up call, Crystal and Deborah looked at Deborah’s latest lab results through her online health portal.

“This is serious, very serious,” Crystal said. “This is life threatening. You’ve got to get in (to the hospital) now.”

Crystal acted swiftly. She coordinated with Deborah’s doctor and hospital staff to get her admitted to the ER right away. Deborah underwent emergency surgery and Crystal helped support her along the journey with every step.

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