Most people pour over their budgets each month to cover rent, mortgages, student loans, etc. But for Jake and Marqui Balle of Clinton, Utah, they have to make sure they find at least $550 somewhere in that to afford lifesaving insulin for their diabetic son, Reid.
At 7 years old, Reid has been living with a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, the condition causes his pancreas to make almost no insulin, ever since he was 18 months. It’s a condition without a cure and the insulin he needs every hour is delivered through a very small pump that is attached to his abdomen.
Eric and Erica Threlkeld in January at the border of the United States and Los Algodones, Mexico. (Eric Threlkeld)
“It’s a major cost, but it comes first for us because without it, our son would die,” said Jake Balle, 33, in an interview with the Washington Post and who works as a real estate agent. “It’s heart-wrenching to know there are families out there who can’t even afford the insurance deductible.”
When Balle was hired by 31 year old Eric Thelkeld as his real-estate agent in December 2018, he let slip the high cost of those insulin pens and the financial stress they put on families. After the initial shock wore off, Threlkeld got to thinking. As a technical engineer, he traveled frequently down to Mexico for work, was there anything he could to do help?
Because the price of prescription drugs are much cheaper in Mexico, Threlkeld asked if he could pick up several insulin pens for Reid at one of the local pharmacies during his next trip and bring them back. He said if he could find the same brand Reid used, NovoLog, he could easily keep them in an insulated lunchbox for safe transport back to the U.S.
Threlkeld found the NovoLog brand with the same packaging and paid about a tenth of the cost.
“He came home with six or seven and paid only $13 each for them,” Balle said. “Here, they would have cost about $110 each, and our son uses five a month. Besides being extremely grateful, we were stunned at how much cheaper it was.”
In January, Threlkeld offered to make another trip to buy insulin for Reid. This time, he took along his wife, Erica, and used his airline miles to pay for their flights on his days off.
“We bought 36 insulin pens for about $16 each, and when I gave them to Jake, he said he wanted to share them with some other families,” Threlkeld said. “That’s when we found out how great the need was out there. Erica and I decided then to help do something about it.”
“It’s heart-wrenching to know there are families out there who can’t even afford the insurance deductible.”
Realizing that this disparity in prescription drug prices was affecting countless others in the Salt Lake City area, the Threlkelds recently started a nonprofit, Medic(a)tion Found(a)tion, to help. With studies showing that the cost of insulin nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016 and now averages nearly $6,000 a year for Type 1 diabetics, the couple decided to donate their airline miles to the cause. And they’re encouraging others to do the same.
“Not everyone is in a financial situation to contribute money, but maybe they have airline miles they aren’t using, or they have some free time to make a trip over the border to buy insulin for families in need,” said Erica Threlkeld, 35, who stays home with her children and also runs a mobile spray-tanning service.
The ultimate goal of the foundation, she said, is to have volunteers make trips to Mexico to load up on affordable insulin and other medications at least every other month.
“People are desperate for insulin at a low cost — there are horror stories about people dangerously reducing the amount they use to save money or having to decide between insulin and paying the mortgage,” she said. “Making a quick trip to Mexico every few months is a simple thing that we can do, and I’m happy to do it.”
Threlkeld said he feels grateful that he and his wife don’t need to buy insulin for any of their five children.
“People in our country are being held hostage over the high price of insulin and other medications,” he said. “If nothing else, we’re hoping that by starting the foundation, we’ll be bringing some awareness for change.”
For Jake Balle, the couple’s trips to the border will help his family save thousands of dollars a year.
“We have a $6,000 deductible, and every penny until now has gone toward insulin,” said Balle. “Eric and Erica have found a real need and will now be going out of their way to ease the pain for lots of families.”
At a current time when the entire globe seems to be gripped by fears of the Coronavirus, the spotlight on easily accessible and affordable medical care couldn’t be more powerful. What the Threlkelds are doing is not doubt heroic, but it shouldn’t need to be a story in the first place.
Regardless, they are more than deserving of this month’s #BeBetter Hero title and are just the types of people we love to read about.
Do you know someone like Eric and Erica who are doing what they can, with what they’ve got, to address an injustice?
Take a minute to tell us and describe how it lives up to the I Do It For Her mission and maybe we can help them continue having that impact! And if you haven’t already, please consider making a tax-exempt donation to help us provide partial scholarships to low-income students attending college.
Hope each and every one of you are staying safe amidst all this coronavirus tragedy. Please remember to look out for those in need and try your best to stay connected to others if you’re practicing self-quarantine or social-distancing.
- Adam
Photo, video, and other content courtesy of Washington Post, KUTV, and TanksGoodNews