Brenda Kuckleburg has had a home business called Prairie Quilts and Designs, for many years.  Brenda made and refurbished quilts through her business until she was diagnosed with an advanced form of incurable stomach cancer in January 2005. Things changed for Brenda after finding out she had cancer; she still runs her home business but she does smaller projects as well as consigning her handmade pottery.

At the time of her cancer diagnosis, Brenda did not have any medical insurance. She was able to qualify for a research project which paid for some medical expenses and chemotherapy.  In late 2006, Brenda was no longer able to get assistance through the research project and was then again without any medical assistance. Brenda describes herself as being persistent and so she began doing a search to find out about any help she might qualify for. That’s when someone with the Department of Social Services told her about Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities (MAWD). Brenda applied for MAWD and was approved in March of 2007.

Brenda states that she has definitely had an improved quality of life since being approved for MAWD. She doesn’t have to worry about paying for the expensive chemo medication that she has to take on a regular basis or all of the other very expensive medical treatments.  She believes that not being under stress or worrying about the mounting medical bills has definitely helped her cancer to not become worse over the last few years. Brenda said that depression goes with having cancer, but due to MAWD, the financial issue is not there and therefore the depression is not as bad. Brenda feels so fortunate that she doesn’t have to make the decision whether she should go to the doctor or whether she should delay medical treatment. She said it is like a “freedom” to know that she can get the help when she needs it. She knows without a doubt that if MAWD would not have been available for her, she would not have had the cancer taken care of. She is a definite advocate for the program and said she tells others about MAWD whenever she can.

Brenda feels that working 10-15 hours a week in her home business has helped her through the unpredictability of having cancer. She has good days and bad days, but her work is what she calls her “therapy” and she also feels because of the flexibility of self employment, she has an advantage of not having to leave her home as she can set her own hours of work depending on how her day is going. This is something that some employers might not tolerate or understand.

Brenda has a very positive attitude. She gives much credit for this to her family especially her husband who provides a huge amount of moral support. She said there are days when she would rather not get up but she remembers her family and her work and says to herself, “get up and get going”.  Brenda knows that her disability due to cancer is different than other disabilities but yet she has many of the same battles to fight every day. She said that you have to “keep trying”, there are all kinds of jobs that can be flexible, “keep busy to keep yourself going.”