Coworkers helping Levant man pay for $30K procedure after insurance denies coverage

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – A Levant man is learning the true value of kindness.

Tom Curran is living with Parkinson’s disease. When he found out his insurance company wouldn’t cover a life-changing procedure, Curran was devastated.

But then, his coworkers took matters into their own hands.

Tom Curran and Raven Morey have worked together at Northern Light Health Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for 14 years. He’s a patient transporter and she’s a registered nurse.

“When you’re a nurse, you meet everybody, and all the transporters are in and out of your patient’s room. So I met him that way and just started chatting with him because I’m a chatty person,” Morey said.

A few years back, she noticed Tom’s hand was twitching.

“I was like, hey, like are you okay?” Morey said.

He was not.

“My father had Parkinson’s,” Curran said.

Tom was diagnosed with the disease more than eight years ago.

“I mean, I always said I want to be like my father but not quite as much like my father,” Curran said.

At first, it was just small tremors in his left hand.

“Mostly when I started writing. I’m left-handed. I had to learn to write right-handed because I can no longer do, hold a pencil in my left hand,” Curran said.

But now, his disease has progressed to constant shaking and swaying. Medication helps but most days, Tom gets home from work exhausted.

“I’m actually shocked that he comes to work every day. And when he does, he comes with a smile. Like, he is the most positive person I have ever met,” Morey said.

Insurance denies coverage

A few months ago, Tom’s neurologist told him about MRI-guided focused ultrasound. It’s non-invasive. Laser beams target the faulty parts of the brain that cause tremors and shut them down.

“It’s not a cure, obviously, but it should bring the quality of life much better,” Curran said.

Both Tom and his doctor were shocked when Tom’s insurance denied him coverage.

“The insurance says it’s a non-proven procedure where the FDA says yes, it is a non-proven procedure. (My doctors) were on the phone for three to four hours, talking to six different supervisors. And every single one of them said no, not going to cover it,” Curran said.

Tom needed to come up with $30,000 to get the procedure. When his coworkers found out, they set up a GoFundMe page.

“I put 30K up there. Go big or go home,” Morey said. “Within 24 hours, not even without 24 hours, I raised over $8,000. Support from everybody, PT to OT people, to nurses, to techs, to even doctors. We were at $16,000 within a couple of days,” Morey said.

As of Monday, June 15th, the fund was at nearly 20K.

“I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have, I, just the way I am, I would have never asked,” Curran said, getting emotional.

“I just think about how would you feel if you were living like this every day? And so even if you can just share the story or donate like a dollar, it just will make a difference,” Morey said.

Tom plans to head down to Boston sometime this summer for the procedure.