In 2015, Gillian Kline was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 28 years old, and months away from getting married.
The day after her doctor called with the news, she and her fiancé went to a radiologist to determine next steps. After the appointment, Kline opened her work email and saw a message with a subject line in all caps: "LAST DAY OF OPEN ENROLLMENT."
"I used to just scroll through those emails and let my plan roll over," Kline said. "But as we got into the taxi back downtown, I started panicking. It was all so overwhelming, and I didn't know what I was going to do."
Kline knew that the right health insurance would determine the kind of care she'd be able to afford during her cancer treatment. She frantically called her company's human resources team and talked with Alex Mackey, who was in charge of benefits.
"I didn't know Alex very well at this point. We were work friendly, but we weren't close. And yet she was going to be the first person outside of my parents and my fiancé that I was about to tell what was happening. I was not ready to say the words 'I have cancer,' but I had no choice."
The first thing Mackey said upon hearing Kline's news was, "Don't worry about a thing. I'll make sure you're enrolled in the right plan. Don't think about this again."
Mackey followed through. She enrolled Kline in a great plan, set her up with a health advocate through the insurance company, and reviewed every medical bill Kline received.
"She found mis-codings, over-billings, [and] double charges, and she taught me, most importantly, not to pay the first bill that I get because they're often incorrect."
Mackey's support extended beyond insurance logistics. She was there when Kline shaved her head and got fitted for a wig. She prepared a care package with items that would be useful on treatment days. She even sent Kline a text on the mornings when she was going to have to endure chemotherapy.
"Before cancer I used to confuse being nice with being kind, and I didn't know the difference. But through this experience, I came to understand true kindness," Kline said.
"Alex showed emotional intelligence that astounded me. She seemed to know the exact right thing to do, the exact right thing to say. [Now], when someone's in crisis or experiencing a tragedy, I ask myself, 'What would Alex do?'"
Gillian Kline just celebrated her ten-year anniversary of being cancer-free.
My Unsung Hero is also a podcast — new episodes are released every Tuesday. To share the story of your unsung hero with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.
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