“Early on, I call patients once or twice a week. Michael needed to see a lot of specialists, so I would text him the week before an appointment, call him the day before, and call a couple of days after to make sure he understood his plan of care,” she said. Along the way, they built a relationship that helped Cristina support him even more. “It’s important to build trust. When Michael opened up about his mom and her health issues, I was able to offer him more resources. He was trying to basically do full care. He needed help.” She arranged for assistance with his mom’s care and connected them to food benefits and mobile pantries. She made sure Michael had transportation and helped him apply for disability benefits. “Health care is not an easy system to navigate,” she noted. “We keep knocking on doors until we get the right person. The goal is to first get All the stuff I went through…I made it. I kept going, and here I am today. But if it wasn’t for Miss Cristina and this program, I don’t think I’d be here. I thank God for them. MICHAEL NELSON patients out of crisis and into a stable situation, then to help them take charge of their own care.” With Cristina’s support, that’s exactly what Michael has done, and it is giving him the chance to enjoy those guiding lights of his life. “I’m able to walk, get around, cook. I can take care of my mama. I watch my granddaughter while her mom goes to school,” he said. “I love that baby. I’ve watched her from a newborn, and now she’s starting school. I tell her, ‘As long as I’m here, you’re gonna be all right.’” Cristina plans to help him keep that promise. “Michael has always been willing to work with me – he’s a strong family man who would do anything for the people he loves,” she said. As it turns out, that list includes Cristina. “I’d do anything for Miss Cristina, I don’t care what it is,” Michael said. “I’d give everything to her if I had a lot.” For Cristina, seeing Michael enjoy life is all she needs. “The smile on a patient’s face is my reward,” she said. “We have an opportunity to help patients in all the areas that result in good health, and that’s very rewarding. I think this is the future of medicine. It’s a costeffective way to deliver care, and it’s a humanistic style of care.” 6 Regional One Health Foundation
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