Mercy Love
I am writing this with a heavy heart and a body in constant, daily distress. In 2013–2014, I placed my trust and my future mobility in the hands of Dr. Kass. We had a clear, life-changing agreement: to correct both of my ankles so I could finally walk straight. He insisted on a "one at a time" approach, starting with my left. I trusted him. I believed him. Life intervened, and while it took until 2024 for me to return to finish what we started, I never imagined that the doctor who began this transformation would simply turn his back on me. When I sat before him again, he denied our agreement and flatly refused to complete the correction. The reality I live with now is a nightmare. I was perfectly balanced before this procedure; today, I am physically lopsided and disfigured. This intentional lack of symmetry has thrown my entire posture out of alignment, creating agonizing pain in parts of my body that were never an issue before. Most frighteningly, walking now causes great distress to my body, and I find myself falling frequently because I am so dangerously unbalanced. It is deeply disheartening to be dismissed so coldly. I am left to wonder if the denial of my care is rooted in the fact that I am a person of color, or because I am on Medicaid, or both. To be left "half-finished" is a betrayal of the highest order. I cry because of the physical pain and the fear of falling, but also because I feel discarded by a professional who promised to help me walk straight and instead left me broken. I would never have consented to let him touch me if I knew he would leave me in this state. I post this with the intention of bringing awareness to others, I hope before you put your life in someone else's hands that you both have a clear understanding. In response to "Your robotic, public-relations response only proves my point: your focus is entirely on protecting your image, not on the human being you left broken. You hide behind 'patient privacy laws' to avoid admitting that you started a job, left me physically lopsided, and then refused to finish it. This isn't a vague 'medical matter'—this is my actual life. I was perfectly balanced before you operated on me. Today, because you refused to complete our agreement, my posture is ruined, I am in constant pain, and I am actively falling and tripping. You claim to treat everyone without discrimination, but actions speak louder than standard legal disclaimers. When a patient of color on Medicaid sits in front of you crying out in pain because of an asymmetrical result you created, and you coldly deny the agreement and show zero empathy, that is a choice. You dismissed my words as if I were just 'crying wolf.' I was manipulated into a lifetime of uncertain steps. I trusted you with my body, and you left me half-finished and discarded. No corporate response can erase the physical daily distress I live with because of your refusal to complete your work.