Quad Cities, IL/IA

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Seeing Clearly

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Young mom gains new perspective on life insurance

One look was all it took. When Reagan Covington wheeled his wife into the emergency room, the
staff could instantly tell something was wrong.

They all had stroke on their minds, but Reagan, a member from Searcy, Ark., pushed that thought away.
Ticia was only 25, and 25-year-olds don’t have strokes.

Blurred Vision
Aug.
25, 2010, started as a normal morning.  It was five days into Ticia’s
new teaching job. Her two young daughters, Ellie and Sawyer, were
wrapping themselves around her legs as she was getting ready.
Ticia’s
contacts were bothering her, so she removed them. Immediately, her eyes
reacted strangely. She squeezed them closed, thinking they needed to
adjust, but when she opened them her vision was completely blurred.
“I felt like I had gone cross-eyed,” Ticia remembers.

Moments
later the right side of her body stopped working, and she could no
longer stand. Then her face started to droop and pull on one side.
The doctor’s assessment and an MRI confirmed Ticia had had a stroke. Part of her brain died.
Protected visions

Ticia
has always been a planner. She purchased life insurance at age 18
because it seemed like the responsible thing to do. Once she and Reagan
were married, Modern Woodmen representative Mickey Gentry helped them
increase their coverage.
But even with Ticia’s foresight, the stroke gave her a new perspective.

“Bad things happen to people … even when they’re young,” she says. “Some people don’t have my happy ending.”
Ticia
has no remaining side effects from her stroke. But had her story ended
differently, she would have left Reagan with two young children, a
mortgage and car payments. Since he works at night, he would have had to find a new job or hire someone to stay with the girls.

“This
experience reaffirmed why you should get life insurance when you’re
young and healthy,” says Ticia. “And it made us question if we had
enough.”

Mickey has advised Ticia to never cancel her coverage. With
her new health history, she would likely pay a higher premium rate (if
she could purchase new coverage at all).

No one likes to think about
dying. And as Ticia says, “You don’t have to harp on it.” But she does
advise young parents to think about what they want for their kids’
futures.

Life insurance can help make those visions come true … no matter what your future holds. by Julie Fuhr

Founded in 1883 as a fraternal benefit society, Modern Woodmen of
America offers financial services and fraternal member benefits to
individuals and families throughout the United States. If you have any
questions contact your local Modern Woodmen representative Ruth Ahnen in
Bennendorf Iowa at 563-508-0842 or visit Ruth.Ahnen@mwarep.org.