Jul 1, 2009 8:29 pm US/Eastern
Woman With Kidney Disease Fired By ACS
Lydia Rollins Says All She Needed Was A Little Help And Understanding, But What She Got Was Her Walking Papers
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Imagine finding out you have a deadly disease and then weeks later losing your health insurance.
That's what happened to a Queens woman who is now suing her former employer.
When Lydia Rollins informed her boss she needed dialysis treatment for her failing kidneys she expected some compassion. What she says she got was a pink slip.
"I still don't know why," Rollins said.
Back in November of 2007 the 25-year-old was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease and told she needed a kidney transplant.
During the next few months her condition worsened and she needed to temporarily stop conducting field work for the Administration for Children's Services where she worked. She then sent her boss a letter explaining her condition.
"I was willing to work office management, it didn't matter. It could have been way below my qualification, a $10-an-hour job. It didn't matter. I just wanted to keep my health coverage," Rollins said.
Then things went from bad to worse. She needed emergency dialysis, and then Rollins got an infection.
About a month later Rollins came back to work, but when she walked in she was fired and her health insurance canceled.
"I was sick. I come back to work, ready to work and I am fired," Rollins said.
Rollins is now suing ACS for money to get a kidney transplant that would not only improve her life, but also double her life expectancy.
"Lydia Rollins needed a kidney. She needed some help. And she needed them to worker with her for a short period of time while she was on dialysis and they fired her. That's illegal," her attorney said.
Rollins' brother is a match and willing to donate a kidney, but without health insurance she can't afford the operation or the anti-rejection medication she will need.
ACS said it cannot comment on Rollins' termination because of pending litigation.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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