Lawrence woman discovers undiagnosed brain injury with help of managed care organization

Photo by Richard Gwin

Teressa Harvey, 64, can sit in her Lawrence mobile home and smile nowadays, ever since a case worker with Amerigroup, which operates the state's Medicaid program, last year discovered she had an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury and began getting her treatment for it. "I have a chance to be a new person," Harvey said, winding thread around a dreamcatcher.

Photo by Richard Gwin

Teressa Harvey, 64, makes a dreamcatcher on a recent day at her Lawrence mobile home.

On a recent day, Teressa Harvey welcomed visitors into her Lawrence mobile home.

This might not seem like a remarkable occurrence, but for Harvey it was a huge step in her recovery process.

A year and a half ago, she would hardly leave the house, had her windows blacked out and certainly wouldn't let anybody inside. She communicated in one of two ways: through crying or explosive anger. She was on a physical-disability waiting list to receive home-based treatment services.

But a case worker with Amerigroup, one of the three managed-care organizations that took over operation of the state's Medicaid program in 2013 under KanCare, reached out to Harvey and immediately realized her problems weren't physical in nature: Harvey had an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury. That got her a waiver through the state to start receiving services to learn how to live independently.

So, on the recent day, visitors got to see Harvey smiling and talking about her new business venture: making dreamcatchers that she sells on the Internet.

"It feels like heaven," the 64-year-old said, threading yarn and cracking jokes she followed with a deep, throaty laugh. "Because I've been in a hole and now I've been set free. I've been given an opportunity to do something with myself and get out of that hole. I got out, and I'm staying out."

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Lawrence woman discovers undiagnosed brain injury with help of managed care organization