News Correspondent Richard Lui
Eric De La Cruz is just one of the more than 100,000 people waiting to get an organ. According to the government, 18 of them will die today waiting. This number has only grown in recent decades as donors and funding remain low.
Eric was already in need of a heart. Three IV’s are keeping him stable. Despite his dire condition, he can’t get on the national donor list.
He has two options to get on the list.
His first option is through his state’s program. But because he has Nevada Medicaid and Nevada has no transplant centers, he has been turned down from getting on the list.
His second option to get on the list is to go to another state like California where there are transplant centers. He would have to move his case there with support under the federal Medicare Disability program. He was rejected twice, and his next appeal hearing is in a year. The family says he doesn’t have that kind of time.
Another issue, Eric’s family says they’re required to have $150,000 in the bank as a down payment to get on the list. The operation is estimated to cost at least $800,000. Eric’s family had managed to raise only $6,000 as of two weeks ago.
So, as daunting as his situation sounds, his family, understandably, is not giving up. They have gone public to try to put a solution together. His sister Veronica De La Cruz, a former employee of CNN, has ignited a grassroots effort through her Twitter account at @VeronicaDLCruz.
The Twitter conversation has raised not only local interest with reports from KNTV and KLAS in Nevada, but celebrities are also taking notice, including Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor. Reznor posted a request on the band’s website to give special backstage access if they donate to Eric’s fund. <a href="http://store.nin.com/helperic/ In five hours, it raised some $220,000 according to Eric’s sister.
One week later, over $850,000 was raised. Reznor says there was so much interest, he had to stop his offer of VIP access at North American concerts because there was no more room. With that amount, part of the family’s dream could now be answered with enough money to pay for the operation.
Reznor is not the only Hollywood name to lend his support on Eric’s sister’s Twitter account. There’s also Collective Soul, Demi Moore, Kelly Clarkson, Star Jones, Al Roker, and Alyssa Milano.
This case has brought attention to the national health care debate, as well as local attention, as Eric’s family pushes U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Nevada’s governor, and other politicians, to try to help cobble together a solution for Eric and so many others who are caught in a similar situation across the country.
What do you think the solution is? What does this say about health care red tape? Should it be up to each family to raise these funds in such cases? And where does Twitter fit in all of this—should the national donor list incorporate more alternative awareness tools such as social media to gain support for the numerous “Erics” that are out there?
Join in the conversation; leave your comments below.
This campaign for Eric, driven as it has been by the emerging social media phenomenon, has really spotlighted the problems with our current healthcare system. And as successful as the efforts of thousands of twitters large and small have been in freeing Eric from red tape in Nevada, his medical situation is far from resolved and he and his family still need support. Hopefully the national focus that this case is putting on both healthcare reform and the use of social media will help him receive the life-saving treatment he needs. Major credit to Veronica De La Cruz for starting such an effective campaign, and to the thousands of supporters who rallied to Eric’s cause, including Reznor and his legions of fans. It illustrates the immense power for good that a new technology – when used by motivated people – can have.
When Trent Reznor posted the offer and the cause, I was more than happy to contribute to assist Eric. I believe something definitely needs to be changed with the US Health Care. The thought of families needing to raise so much funds to save a loved one’s life is disgusting. It’s situations like these that make me realize how fortunate us Canadians truly are. Without nin.com or twitter, myself and most of the rest of #eric’s twitter army would never have heard about Eric. So, yes, I think social media should be used and is a wonderfully powerful tool.
A proud member of the #eric twitter army! A proud fan of Nine Inch Nails!
Eric De La Cruz situation is raising awareness about the issues of HEALTH CARE, but he is also the brother and son of Veronica De La Cruz and her mother. He didn’t CHOOSE to be spotlighted Its sad that when a person is in a fight for their life, that they have to have family turn to strangers to get help. THAT being said, turn to strangers Veronica did!
From one tweet 3 weeks ago, to Eric being approved after FIVE YEARS for medicare, to being transported a state where they DID have facilities to help him… to having FINALLY gotten a succesful VAD so MUCH has been accomplished. HE STILL NEEDS A HEART TRANSPLANT.
YET Eric is only ONE person… VERONICA is only ONE sister who has been fighting for her brothers life. There are so SO many other people struggling with the same issues every day, Who will stand up for THOSE people?
People who suffer catastrophic illness are not equiped to fight through all the red tape.
WHO will help them?
kim
Thank you for covering the story of Eric De La Cruz. The De La Cruz family are true heroes who never gave up. It was an important situation for the thousands of heartfealt indivuals that participated with blogs, fundraising, sites, donations, petitions and on Twitter. From the famous celebrities to everyday friends on Twitter, the red tape their family ran into and Eric’s endurance touched us deeply. The humanity of so many came to the forefront.
Your attention on the story is very much appreciated. The lesson to learn is that people all over the world care about saving Eric’s life, and they care about saving life. I met people from Australia through this campaign. Americans came together and said this can not happen again.
The last lesson to be learned from this amazing campaign is that lives and medical emergencies should depend the social media savvy of the family of an individual in critical condition. The time table is often not there to learn it. For the 50 million Americans who do not have insurance, this is not a solution. Not even close to a solution.
Our country spends more on healthcare than any other, yet we have a terrible record for care denied. The top healthcare company grossed over two billion in profits last year. For that type of environment to turn dying patients to a Blackberry to stay alive is not a solution.
I am so glad there are social networks like twitter out there, but it is sad that this is what it takes. America and canada are such generous countries when it comes to helping people in disasters and helping third world countries,etc…, but we shouldnt have to be begging for someones life if the health care system was looked into a little deeper and some changes were made. I jumped on the Eric bandwagon to do my part in whatever i could help with as one little person, and i am very proud that so many pulled together and it got such attention. I am sure eric thanks Twitter too.
“well, we all know theirs huge benefits to register a company in Cyprus, lol. My account pointed me to a few blogs on the net which i’m rather reluctant to check out as i’ve been so busy lately”
Thanks for the nice post…