{"id":244,"date":"2007-10-22T23:43:50","date_gmt":"2007-10-22T23:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2007\/10\/next-time-you-fight-with-your-insurance-company.html"},"modified":"2007-10-22T23:43:50","modified_gmt":"2007-10-22T23:43:50","slug":"next-time-you-fight-with-your-insurance-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/10\/next-time-you-fight-with-your-insurance-company.html","title":{"rendered":"Next time you fight with your insurance company…"},"content":{"rendered":"

…tell them you could be asking them to send you to Lourdes:<\/a><\/p>\n

In 1985, Dutch teenager Marcel Roeg fell off his moped and into the darkness. The smart-aleck jock would never again play goalie, ride a scooter or dance with his girlfriend Marissa. The accident left him brain-damaged and blind.<\/p>\n

Since that day, Mr. Roeg has spent most of his time in a home for the handicapped, harboring a dream. In the dream, he goes to Lourdes to visit the famous place where in 1858 a 14-year-old peasant girl claimed to see the Virgin Mary. There, he is healed. He rides a motorcycle again. And he is no longer lonely.<\/p>\n

Last month, Mr. Roeg, now 37 years old, actually made the trip to Lourdes — thanks to his insurance company, VGZ.<\/p>\n

In an unusual scheme, the Dutch company spends about $280,000 a year to fly 600 of its sickest and most disabled clients to Lourdes. The company doesn’t expect the Virgin Mary to intercede. It hopes for a different sort of miracle.<\/p>\n

“Lourdes leads people to compassion and friendship,” says Johan Rozendaal, a VGZ board member. “They remember what it’s like to have somebody really care about them.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Thanks to Nance<\/a> for passing it on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…tell them you could be asking them to send you to Lourdes: In 1985, Dutch teenager Marcel Roeg fell off his moped and into the darkness. The smart-aleck jock would never again play goalie, ride a scooter or dance with his girlfriend Marissa. The accident left him brain-damaged and blind. 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