Patient Stories

Donna Lever has been a patient of The Free Medical Clinic for the last six years. She suffers from ailments such as hypertension as well as severe neck and back pain due to her scoliosis, arthritis and a bulging disc in her neck. In 2006 Lever had emergency surgery due to a brain hemorrhage. With the help and guidance from The Free Medical Clinic, Lever was able to get the life saving medicine she desperately needed but could not afford. When asked what The Free Medical Clinic means to her, Lever said, “If it wasn’t for the clinic, I do not know what I would do without insurance, the staff is very, very helpful and because of them I am able to get the prescriptions I need.” Because of the clinic, Lever is able to see a chiropractor who is working to alleviate the excruciating pain in her neck and back. Lever also expressed her appreciation for the clinic’s referrals to outside physicians. Lever is sent yearly to Palmetto Health Baptist for a mammogram and Palmetto Health Richland for women’s services. Through all of the years and wonderful encounters with The Free Medical Clinic’s staff, nurses, doctors, pharmacists and friendly volunteers, Lever is extremely grateful.

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Peggy Williams has been a patient of The Free Medical Clinic for almost 15 years. She suffers from many ailments such as Congestive Heart Failure, Diabetes, GERD, High Blood Pressure, Neuropathy and OSA (Obstructed sleep apnea). “It is a nice place. Everyone here is very helpful and I thank God for it,” said Williams. When asked what The Free Medical Clinic means to her Williams said, “Without it, I’d have to go to a nursing home.” Because of The Clinic, Williams is able to obtain the 11 different medications needed for her conditions. And obtaining these prescriptions is easier than ever before due to the new layout of the pharmacy, the scheduled pick up times and the friendly, accommodating staff.  Williams feels that the volunteer physicians, who work with The Free Medical Clinic, are exceptional and have a vested interest in their patients.  When Williams’ ailments grew more severe, she was referred by The Clinic’s volunteer physicians to local specialists.  She has been referred to several agencies including:  Laurel Endocrinology, Dr. “Buddy” Cullum (Nephrology), SC Heart Center and Dr. Cam McLain (Sleep specialist). “The specialists have been great.  I am seeing one now for my Diabetes, and they have helped me find the right combination of medication that works best for me. They even send my medical records back to The Clinic so it is one less thing I have to worry about.”  Through all of the years and wonderful encounters with The Free Medical Clinic’s staff and friendly volunteers, Williams wishes she too was able to volunteer at The Clinic and help guarantee a successful future for it and its patients.

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  When Edith Calloway of Columbia was hurt on the job  more than a year ago, she didn’t realize how much her world would turn upside down. After losing her health insurance and not being awarded workers’ compensation or disability, Calloway felt she had no where to turn for help.  Calloway suffered from nerve damage in her hand and parts of the right side of her body. More than a physical handicap, she became emotionally drained from continuously asking for help and financial assistance from her employer. She desperately needed medical attention. That’s when a friend told Calloway about The Free Medical Clinic.  Calloway now sees the Rheumatologist at The Free Medical Clinic who helps her with the pain in her hand and right side of her body.  “I’m alive today because of The Free Medical Clinic,” says Calloway with tears in her eyes. “Because of their kind hearts and healing hands, I receive medications that alleviate the pain I have.”   Although Calloway doesn’t have a lot of extra money to give back to the Clinic, she saves here and there to make gift baskets for the staff.  “Sometimes I’ll find a big basket and fill it with things I know everyone will enjoy like chocolates and flowers.”  Calloway is a God-fearing mother of three daughters. She says God has blessed her with The Free Medical Clinic. “The doctors, nurses and staff there are like my family. They truly care about their patients and what happens to them,” she smiles. “But more than anything else, I’m blessed because The Free Medical Clinic put my mind at ease at a time when I had lost all hope.”

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Barry Wider is one of The Free Medical Clinic’s many patients who owe a great deal, in fact, probably his life, to the clinic.  Wider is a 50 year old man whose career as a tractor trailer driver, that took him across the 48 states for years, ended when diabetes took over his life and his livelihood. He used to be gone a month at a time, but in 1999, his free wheeling days behind the wheel was stopped because of insulin dependence, a toe removal and other health problems that have left him disabled.  When his illness began, he had a physician and when there wasn’t money to pay for his treatment, Wider’s physician referred him to The Free Medical Clinic.  A lifelong resident of Hopkins, Wider commutes to Columbia at least once every month or two to see Dr. Buddy Cullum, his physician at The Free Medical Clinic, and frequently returns between visits to have his many prescriptions refilled, prescriptions that cost him nothing but mean his life to him. “If it weren’t for them,” Wider says, “I’d have no way to get my medicine.”   Wider usually has an appointment with Dr. Cullum, so he avoids having to stand in the long lines before the clinic opens, a feat that he just couldn’t manage because he can’t stand that long.  He usually arrives about 8:30 a.m., parks, and waits until the clinic opens at 9 a.m to go in the lobby, where he waits comfortably until they call his name.  Wider has lost his toe to diabetes and that experience has continued to cause him lots of problems. In fact, he expects to go again to the wound center at Providence for another round of treatment for an abscess that is not healing properly. He’s been referred several times to other specialists when his care requires more than Dr. Cullum and the staff of The Free Medical Clinic can provide. He went to one doctor and a hospital for the toe removal and to another for other issues. But, he always returns because the clinic is his primary care practice, coordinating and supervising all that he needs.  “Karen is wonderful,” says Wider speaking about Karen Sanders, RN, full-time clinical coordinator for The Free Medical Clinic. “She’ll do all she can to help you. She tells me what to do to take care of my diabetes.”  Karen acknowledges that while Wider is a success story now, it took quite a bit of coaxing and education to get him to acknowledge that diabetes was a serious condition for him. He was originally in denial about his insulin dependence; resistant to agree that diabetes prevented the wound on his foot from healing. “But, today,” Sanders says, “Mr. Wider finally decided that he wanted to do the right thing, and he’s on the road to having a good quality of life.” Together, Wider and his team at The Free Medical Clinic are on the same page and are keeping him healthy together.  Today, Wider spends lots of time on his computer, “staying off my foot,” he says.

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