Woman, declared dead, must prove she's alive

Updated: 9:10 AM Dec 30, 2009

An East Tennessee woman has spent her entire life fighting a disease, living more than 20 years longer than doctors told her she would. But on Christmas Eve, she found out the government classified her as dead, cutting off all her coverage.

Posted: 5:00 PM Dec 29, 2009
Reporter: Heather Haley
Email Address: heather.haley@wvlt-tv.com

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MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- An East Tennessee woman has spent her entire life fighting a disease, living more than 20 years longer than doctors told her she would.

But on Christmas Eve, she found out the government classified her as dead, cutting off all her coverage.

Leaving Terri Thompson to face one of her toughest battles.

She calls herself a fighter, finding out at 6 year sold that she has a rare and incurable blood disease.

Terri says, "It's called Hypogammaglobulin Anemia." "It affects my immune system, when I don't have enough white blood cells." "It's caused many of my organs to stop on me."

Doctors told Terri that she wouldn't live to see 25, but she continues to prove them wrong, a couple of months shy of her 49th birthday.

"I've been a fighter, and a fighter, and I've had 6 doctors give up on me," says Terry.

Laying in her Union County apartment, hiding from the germ-ridden world, she leaves every 3 weeks for treatment.

But, on Christmas Eve, she needed to go by the bank to take out money for dinner with her son.

"When I showed that lady my license, she turned white as a ghost." Terry says the bank employee, "said, I got a note that you died, that you're dead. So, I sent your Social Security back to the Social Security office."

Then when she got home, she found a letter in her mailbox saying her medical coverage ended.

"That letter stated to my family my condolences, and sympathy at the death of Terri Thompson, and I'm reading that myself."

Tearfully, she called the Social Security Administration in Knoxville. "They really couldn't tell me nothing. They told me I've got to come into the office and talk with somebody, and that they didn't have an opening until the 14th."

That's 3 weeks from the date of the call, and in between, Terri has a treatment, and several bills, that she can no longer pay for.

"I can't understand how they can make a mistake like this," as Terri chokes back her emotions.

Now she faces two fights: one to keep her life, and the other to prove she is still alive.

"I'm taking a chance at losing my life over somebody else's mistake."

When Volunteer TV called the Social Security Administration about this story, the regional office in Atlanta asked for Terri's phone number.

They say they're working to re-instate her coverage as soon as possible, instead of making her wait until January 14th.

Latest Comments

Posted by: Betty Location: Knoxville on Jan 3, 2010 at 07:24 AM

And now they want us to have only Government run insurance? This is a prime example of the stupidity of our government.

Posted by: Rich Location: Kingsport on Jan 1, 2010 at 05:14 AM

Thank goodness that she can rely on the efficiency of government-run healthcare!!!

Posted by: tennational Location: Kingston on Dec 30, 2009 at 03:20 PM

I have heard of this happening before. Actually several times. Many people have the same name ... although this is a shame and a hardship for this lady it is not as uncommon as one would like to think.

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