Woman tries to save dying man, but gets stuck with bills

-After county won't test victim's blood for viruses, good samaritan left wondering if she was infected-

When Wendy Lee saw a man get hit by a truck that night in May, she had no second thoughts about what she should do.

Lee stopped her Suburban to help 64-year-old Juan Vega, who had been trying to cross Williamson County Road 172 near La Frontera in Round Rock when he was struck by a 2000 Chevrolet pickup. Lee said she could see Vega's cowboy boots lying in the road.

"I called 911 as I was walking up to him, and they walked me through the first steps of CPR and chest compressions," Lee said.

Vega's eyes were open and moving, and he was gasping for air as she put her lips to his and breathed.

Vega died on the way to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. When emergency workers saw that Lee, 38, was covered in Vega's blood, they sent her to the hospital to be tested for HIV and hepatitis.

The tests came back negative, but because Williamson County didn't test Vega for those diseases at the scene, Lee is left wondering whether she was exposed to viruses that might affect her health later. Doctors say that six to eight weeks after exposure is the most important time to test for HIV and hepatitis because both viruses take time to show up, but Lee said she cannot afford to get retested.

"When I opened that bill, I wanted to cry," said Lee, a single mother of two teenagers who is a human resource manager at Triple Crown Dog Academy in Hutto. "I kept thinking to myself, 'Didn't I do the right thing?' "

Eric Strelnieks, a staff physician at St. David's Round Rock Medical Center, where Lee was taken after she tried to help Vega, said she was given a shot to prevent hepatitis B, a virus that attacks the liver, and was prescribed medication that slows the development of HIV.

Lee said she stopped taking the medication after a few weeks because it made her nauseated and dizzy.

Lee's health insurance paid a portion of her hospital bill, which was just under $8,000. But she said she can't afford to pay the remainder.

Testing Vega's blood for diseases could have put the questions to rest, but Williamson County doesn't require such tests unless it is suspected that alcohol or drugs were involved in a fatal accident, said Steve Benton, the justice of the peace who was called to the May 15 wreck.

"I sympathize with (Lee), but if we did a toxicology and blood test every time a fatality occurred, then it would cost the county $2,000 for each test," Benton said. Lee said she asked for Vega's medical records but was told by a state trooper after the accident that they were not available to her because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, a law that prevents patient medical records from being made public.

That might not be the case, said health law attorney Leah Stuart with the law firm Vinson & Elkins. She said Lee would have to make an open records request to any hospital or physician that Vega may have visited, and the health provider would then decide whether to release the information.

"It's a catch-all exception in the (HIPAA) law that pertains to someone whose life has been threatened. Hers could be in this case," Stuart said. "For (Lee) to get those records is a big hurdle."

Lee said that between work and caring for her children, she doesn't have time to deal with paperwork or open records requests.

Socorro Vega, Juan Vega's daughter, met with Lee last month and told her that her father was not sick. But she did not know the last time he had been tested for communicable diseases.

"She was an angel for my dad that moment she stopped. She really just wanted to save his life," Socorro Vega said. "I just hope that she gets help to pay the bills or gets the help she deserves for her good deed."

According to hospital officials in Round Rock and Austin, emergency technicians and first responders who are exposed to patients' blood receive the same testing and medication that Lee received, but their employers' insurance covers the cost.

Lee said she helped Vega because she and others had failed to help the victim of a car accident in front of her Round Rock home this year. She said she later learned that the man lying in the middle of the road had died, and she vowed to help the next person in need.

"I could never regret what I did (for Vega) because I know it was right," she said. "I just wish someone could tell me what to do."

UPDATE >>>

Good Samaritan receives outpouring from community, gets bills paid

Wendy Lee was stuck with a $3,000 bill after trying to save a man who was hit by a truck

By Isadora Vail
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, July 17, 2007

It turns out that Wendy Lee’s attempt to save a dying man is not going to break her bank account.

On Monday, Lee learned that she is not stuck with the thousands of dollars in hospital bills that she had accumulated after trying to resuscitate Juan Vega after he was hit by a truck in May. He died on the way to Brackenridge Hospital.

The truck hit Vega while he was trying to cross Williamson County Road 172 near Round Rock. Lee stopped to help him and called 911.

When she saw that Vega was not breathing, she gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Vega coughed blood into her mouth, prompting emergency officials to send Lee to the hospital to be tested for HIV and hepatitis B and C. She was also given several medications that slow the development of the viruses.

After Lee’s health insurance paid half her bills, she was left with about $3,000 to pay.

The American-Statesman published a story about her situation last week, which prompted area residents to donate hundreds of dollars. Lee also got an offer of help from state Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown.

But on Monday, Lee found out that Round Rock Medical Center wrote off the remainder of her bill. The hospital has also offered to pay for a second round of tests, which she will take Wednesday.

Those tests are crucial; doctors say that six to eight weeks after exposure is the most important time to test for HIV and hepatitis because both viruses take time to show up.

Before Monday, she hadn’t planned to go to her follow-up appointment because she said she couldn’t afford the bills.

Kellie Bolin, chief financial officer of Round Rock Medical Center, was unavailable for comment Monday but said in a written statement, “Previously, the patient had not contacted the hospital for assistance with her medical expenses. Once I learned of the patient’s circumstances, the hospital made the decision to pay the patient’s out of pocket medical expenses.”

Lee said she doesn’t plan to keep any of the money she received from people who heard about her story.

“I want to give the rest of the money to the Vega family because I know they need help paying the funeral costs,” Lee said.

Vega’s seven children buried him in Mexico.

“I told her not to worry about it; we already paid most of it. And to keep it to help someone else out,” said Socorro Vega, Juan Vega’s daughter.

But Lee isn’t easily convinced, saying she couldn’t keep the money and doesn’t feel right spending it on herself.

“I would just feel way too guilty,” she said.

“Everything has worked out for the best. It’s all over, and I have a real happy ending. Now I’ve got to start writing thank-you letters.”

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/17/0717paid.html

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