MEMBERconnection: Focus on health Disabilities [dis]count
From left: Mary and Ed Long; Dr. Mikel Prieto, Mayo Clinic kidney transplant surgeon; and Sue and George Hendon.
SAMAN THA RONE Y
Finding friendly
treasure at Costco
IN JANUARY 2009, Mary Long was picking up
prescriptions at the Kansas City Costco for
her husband, Ed. She turned around to see
an acquaintance, Sue Hendon, and the two
started talking. Long explained that Ed was
approaching renal failure and needed a kidney transplant. Between family and friends,
seven people had offered to donate an organ,
but none were matches.
Sue said, “Well, we can’t have that. How
hard can it be?” She went home to discuss it
with her husband, George. Two nights later,
she said, “Let’s do it!”
Amazingly, Sue was a perfect match. In she said, “Let’s do it!”
Amazingly, Sue was a perfect match. In
March 2009, the surgery was performed.
Sue left the hospital three days later, and in
four weeks she was in Florida, surfing.
A year later, Ed is doing fine and is very
grateful to Sue, saying, “We’ve never been
close friends, more of an acquaintance, but
we’re a lot closer now.”
George writes that Sue’s explanation for
her selfless act was simple: “If you had two
cookies and a good friend desperately
needed one, wouldn’t you offer one of yours?
Of course you would!”
Mary says, “Our friends ask, ‘Who goes to
Costco and gets a kidney?’ ”—Steve Fisher
March 2009, the surgery was performed.
a
A year later, Ed is doing fine and is very
r
c
George writes that Sue’s explanation for
needed one, wouldn’t you offer one of yours?
LIVING WITH disabilities
presents a challenge
physically, but the financial
burden makes it doubly difficult.
Numerous discounts are available for
people with disabilities; however, finding
them can be a daunting
task. David Squar acciden-
tally uncovered one when
the demands of his wife
Mara’s multiple sclerosis
forced them to move to a
smaller house after their
children had moved out.
With the move came
a discovery. The county
recorder notified them
that, because the move
was to replace the residence of a person with
disabilities, the Squars
were entitled to a property tax discount.
“I was in the escrow business for 35
years, owning my own company, [and]
never noticed this was available,” Squar
says. “The type on the document is so
tiny, you’d never notice it.”
That led to more research to see what
other concessions existed, and the Squars
decided the information should be made
widely available. Disabled
Discounts.com (www.disabled
discounts.com) went live in
early 2010. David does most of
the research himself, with
some assistance from friends,
finding programs and dis-
counts for the disabled offered
by governments and busi-
nesses across the United
States. Mara hosts a commu-
nity forum to facilitate discus-
sion among people sharing
similar burdens. To help cover
the costs of running the site,
DisabledDiscounts.com carries
a subscription fee of $25 a year, covering
one state; additional states can be added at
a reduced rate.—SF
Ken Roney mod-
els the size- 54
pants he used to
wear before
embarking on his
“Costco diet” in July
2008. “A big part of
my weight loss was
eating foods from
Costco,” says the
Oregon resident (www.
kenroney.com); who
shed 232 pounds
and rid himself of
Type 2 diabetes and high
blood pressure. “If it
weren’t for Costco’s
quality products, it
would have made my
weight loss much more
difficult to attain.”—T. Foster Jones
r
quality products, it
We want to
hear from you!
IF YOU HAVE a note, photo or story to share
about Costco or Costco members, e-mail
it to
connection@costco.com with “The
Member Connection” in the subject line or
send it to “The Member Connection,” The
Costco Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle,
WA 98124-1088. Submissions cannot be
acknowledged or returned.
