 by Beverly Vote
“May I speak with First Lady Nancy Reagan please?”
On the day that Augusta Williams was scheduled to have bilateral surgery, her insurance company denied her coverage. For a brief moment, Augusta didn’t know what to do. She thought a minute and then immediately knew she needed to reach out to Nancy Reagan. Augusta knew Mrs Reagan was a breast cancer survivor and to this day, Augusta continues to believe in reaching out for help on the highest level when help is needed.
Being involved in health care is not new for Augusta Williams. She has been in the health care field as a profession for more than three decades. Not only was she a staff nurse and supervisor, but also a health care administrator. Through the years, Augusta has learned that there are very contrasting differences between hospitals and the care they provide. Augusta understands and wants all patients to understand that it is their right to be treated with dignity, respect, and never to be ignored and at all times to request the highest level of care possible.
Because Augusta knew she needed help right away to break through the insurance denial and medical bureaucracy she was facing, she didn’t give up nor did she accept that there was nothing she could do. Augusta listened to her instinct and picked up the phone and reached out to First Lady Nancy Reagan. After being put through to many interns and secretaries, Augusta was finally able to explain to the White House assistant what her dilemma was. After hanging up with the White House, Augusta received a phone call within minutes from the New York based hospital notifying her of her insurance approval, and Augusta was on her way of moving forward with her scheduled surgery. Augusta continues to live by the principle that she teachers others—“to do everything you can.”
Augusta was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1988 at the age of 48. She felt a lump in her breast while performing her monthly self exam. Because Augusta’s mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 48 and died one year later from the disease, Augusta became diligent to know her body better so that she could recognize any changes in her breasts when performing her monthly breast self examinations.
Because the breast cancer experience taught Augusta self-reliance and a better understanding of what her strengths were, she wrote her autobiography, “Older Than My Mother” with the hope that others would learn from her cancer experience. In the book, Augusta shares how she overcame breast and bone cancer and how she managed her medical care. Augusta also candidly shares in her autobiography how afraid and emotional she was at first and how she isolated herself from others until she learned what it meant to be an advocate and an empowered patient and how to speak out for yourself.
Augusta’s passion is to teach and help empower women and men to advocate for their health care needs, to always obtain the best quality of care possible, and then to pass the lessons learned to others.
Whether you are a store clerk at Wal-mart, a highly accredited physician, a CEO of a company, a Republican or Democratic United States President, a taxicab driver, or the neighbor next door, you can be assured if your help is needed in a matter, Augusta Williams will personally reach out to you and teaches others to do so for themselves as well.
Augusta Williams 7 Steps for Self-Advocacy
- Be your best friend.
- Form a partnership with your MD.
- 5 R’s: Read, Research, Remember, Recall, and Refer.
- Obtain copies of all of your medical reports and interventions so that you can better monitor your progress.
- Do not display the shake head syndrome – ask questions! Don’t shake your head in agreement when you don’t agree or when you don’t understand what is being said.
- Take a friend with you to the MD’s office to act as a second pair of ears for you.
- Go to the top when the bottom does not work so that you can quickly cut down on red tape and bureaucracy.
Augusta has compiled a List of Questions to Assist You in Becoming Empowered to Advocate for your Health Care Needs- go to www.BreastCancerWellness.org and click on “What Would Augusta Do?” to print out your copy and to share with others. These include questions to ask if you find a lump in your breast and questions that will help you to ask your doctor about breast cancer.
The next time you are faced with a challenge, whether it is your health, being ignored at a service center, or someone treating you disrespectfully, ask yourself “What would Augusta do?” and then listen for your instinct, compassion, and a greater wisdom to be shown to you.
P.S. Augusta and her husband Fred are both dance enthusiasts. Augusta will be teaching dancing lessons on the 4th Annual Breast Cancer Survivors Cruise and will be leading our “Dancing with the Divas”. It is going to be great fun, but we need both dance participants and dance judges for the Dance Off. I look forward to you meeting Augusta - just being in Augusta’s presence, a person feels stronger, more compassionate, and more alive.
Augusta’s email is fgaleh@comcast.net.
Download a List of Questions to Assist You to
Advocate for Your Medical Health Care Needs
|
