Twenty-one year old Morgan Valley is a quiet young woman who is studying elementary education at Baker College in Owosso. And she's in a bit of a bind.
Back when she was 15 years old, Morgan was abused by Larry Nassar*. Because of the abuse, this normally shy and quiet girl for the first time started to experience feelings of insecurity, depression, and anxiety. She even struggled with suicidal thoughts. Thanks to a good therapist, a devoted family, and time spent with her dog Bubba, she is now on the road to healing. But the road has turned out to be a bumpy one. Initially, Morgan's therapy was covered by insurance, but new insurance coverage recently obtained by her parents requires higher co-pays. Thankfully the MSU Healing Assistance Fund covered the cost of those co-pays ... until it didn't. When the Fund was suspended in July 2018, her therapist generously agreed to let her defer the co-payments, but they have been adding up. And now that the Fund has been cancelled**, the Valleys owe a significant amount of money to the therapist. It seems that MSU's broken promise resulted in another betrayal, and this one came right in the midst of the healing process. You could say that Morgan is "lucky" because she's been able to keep up with her therapy, and she is finding it helpful. The expenses are unexpected and significant, but her therapy continues. Her parents are finding ways to juggle the expenses. But other survivors haven't been so "lucky". And it concerns Morgan to know that some of the sister survivors have had to delay or cancel their therapy work completely. Without the Fund, they're simply unable to find a way to pay for it. Morgan is grateful that she has a supportive family and a flexible therapist, but Michigan State University's broken promise has been frustrating and disappointing. Reinstatement (or replacement) of the Healing Assistance Fund would remove at least one concern and point of uncertainty for Morgan and her parents. _____ * Footnotes:
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