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Jerry Prevost started working with Allan Construction of Saskatoon in 2001 as a laborer. He earned his Red Seal carpenter's papers and quickly worked his way up to Foreman. His future with Allan Construction looked bright, as did his personal life with wife, Jill, and three young boys.
On February 28, 2015, life threw a curve ball at Jerry. For a couple of days, this healthy young man just "wasn't feeling right". A busy lifestyle and the flu bug seemed to be the reason. However, when Jill woke him up from a nap and he wasn't able to talk, she knew it was more that just the flu.
Life quickly unraveled from being normal to being uncertain and terrifying as the doctors discovered an apple-sized tumor embedded in Jerry's brain. Within a month and a half, he had three surgeries to remove 60% of the tumor, followed by radiation, chemo, and rehab. Jill took a leave of absence from her job to look after their children and help Jerry with his recovery.
In Jill's words, the Long Term Disability (LTD) benefit provided by Merit is "one of those things you hope you never have to use", but they were so grateful Jerry had the coverage to provide income during the time he's been off work. Knowing their finances were in order gave them the opportunity to focus on Jerry's recovery.
They also chose to self-pay their benefits to maintain coverage for his medication, the family's dental costs, and paramedical expenses. A case worker was assigned to them to ensure Jerry's LTD case was handled in a timely and simplified way.
Jerry hopes to return to work some day, but right now they're taking things one day at a time. You never know what life is going to throw at you; being healthy and able to work today doesn't guarantee you'll be the same tomorrow. All you can do is have a good back-up plan and the means of ensuring you can provide for your family regardless of what happens. That's what Merit's LTD is.....your back-up plan.
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