MOORPARK, Calif., Oct. 7, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Many people feel like their HMOs see them as a number, not a person who is suffering. As costs rise and more people go without health insurance, Sonny Levenbach puts a human face on the sickly healthcare crisis with his new book, Story of a Death: A family's journey around our broken healthcare system (now available through AuthorHouse).
Levenbach has turned his wife's losing battle with non Hodgkins Lymphoma into an emotional war against cancer and the healthcare system. The book is an email diary comprised from correspondences he and his wife made with family and friends over the Internet. The result is a firsthand account of the sorrow, strength and hope that a spouse experiences as they try to hold on to their significant other. Through the emails, Levenbach documents his wife's last year and the conflicts they encountered while dealing with HMOs, hospitals and health insurance.
The book offers the story of his wife, Betty, and how she refused to be pushed around by the medical system. Levenbach hopes the book helps others realize what they need to do to get the treatment they deserve, from taking charge of one's own care to having an advocate to fight for them. Most of all, he hopes his wife's story can help those in similar situations face their diseases with courage and optimism.
Story of a Death is a heart wrenching, emotional journey that advises readers to accept help and never give up, even if the healthcare system only sees them as a statistic.
Levenbach and his wife, Betty, were born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. They owned and operated a successful roofing business, but decided to immigrate to the United States with their two sons in 1986. Their daughter followed a few years later. Levenbach worked for one of the largest commercial roofing companies in Southern California for 17 years before retiring. Betty ran her own business selling educational and environmentally friendly toys and books.
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