Mark has suffered from frequent housing insecurity for most of his adult life, which has caused tremendous stress and compromised his ability to access adequate health care. Compounding matters, he possesses no government-issued identification, Social Security card, or birth certificate. Any interaction with the health care system is difficult because Mark is unable to prove his identity.

Fortunately, several years ago, Barbara and Andy, who live in Berkeley, offered him a place to stay in exchange for gardening and other projects at their home. They have helped him in many ways. In late 2018, Barbara, a former RN, helped Mark get medical treatment when he had a pulmonary embolism. Since then, Barbara has continued to help Mark navigate the health care system.

At 71, Mark has hearing loss so profound that he is unable to use a telephone. Barbara has assisted Mark when he needs to communicate with health care providers, which he has needed to do more often as he has grown older.

In recent years, Mark began suffering from fevers, abdominal pain, nausea, and fatigue. His condition made it difficult for him to eat properly and he lost a lot of weight. In 2019, with Barbara's help, Mark described his symptoms to a primary care provider at Order of Malta Clinic of Northern California. After diagnosing a bladder infection, his PCP referred him to our program and we matched him with Dr. Andrew Pienkny, a urologist at Alta Bates Medical Center, Berkeley. Later, Mark's PCP at Order of Malta Clinic referred him to our program again for a hernia repair, and we matched him with Dr. Rockson Liu, a general surgeon at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Oakland.

Over a few years, Mark underwent various procedures to treat his conditions. In the first surgery, Dr. Pienkny performed both a cystolitholapaxy to remove a bladder stone and a photoselective vaporization of the prostate to clear excess tissue associated with his enlarged prostate. In the second surgery, Dr. Rockson Liu repaired Mark's inguinal hernia.

Mark no longer suffers from chronic bladder infections and abdominal pain. He enjoys being able to cook, work, and grow plants in the garden again now that he is able to walk, stand, and bend over without pain. Mark is thankful for the excellent care he received from Dr. Pienkny, Dr. Liu, and their teams.

According to Barbara, "the surgeries changed his life! Mark feels better now than he has in many years. He can work more hours, walk farther, cook more, and eat more. He is able to enjoy life more because he finally feels well!"

Story and photo shared with patient’s permission.