GREENVILLE, SC, August 18, 2023 - Pilzer Klein, P.C., recognizes that cancer plagues the lives of millions of people in the United States, including the nation's youth. It's in recognition of that struggle and the valiant fight young people put into protecting their life-long dreams that Pilzer Klein, P.C., offers its annual Pilzer Klein, P.C., Fighting Cancer Scholarship.
This year, Pilzer Klein, P.C., proudly offers its financial support to Dimitri Vallejo. Vallejo's story of medical malpractice, a fight against cancer, and an even longer fight against the deterioration of his heart moved the firm's staff. Vallejo's scholarship essay specifically outlines the tragedy of profit over treatment and Vallejo's journey to a position of radical care.
Prior to his college career, Vallejo spent a significant amount of his youth enduring MRIs as he battled leukemia. Unfortunately, when his insurance denied him the right to pursue safe chemotherapy, Vallejo and his mother were forced to trade Vallejo's heart health for the eradication of the cancer that plagued his life.
Vallejo spent the years after beating cancer contending with a new gauntlet of health concerns stemming from a condition known as left ventricular tachycardia. He reports two major heart surgeries and long-term treatment via Entresto, a $2,000-a-month heart medication.
In an effort to contend with these challenges, Vallejo chased his academic goals and fought for corporate roles that would provide him with the insurance he needed to afford the right to live. All the while, he says he struggled with the injustice that tied – and continues to tie – a person's monetary standing to their right to medical care.
While contending with these medical conditions, Vallejo attended school and participated in the Athena Pre-Law Mentorship Program. Alongside Christopher Santas, Vallejo embraced an interest in Restorative Justice and mediation. These interests provided Vallejo with a road toward actionable justice for the suffering he says that he and others like him wrongfully endure at the hands of insurance providers.
Vallejo has since led workshops on conflict resolution, utilizing his mediation certificate to the fullest.
"I believe our society is capable of far more than preserving a status quo that uses demographics to systematically reject human rights. We can realize justice," he says. "Facing death gave me a choice: either yield to adversity or reframe my affliction as an opportunity. I choose the latter: to interpret my condition as a lens for seeing a broken system and using my unique perspective to amplify those who need a voice. I will not ignore my social responsibility to help rectify unjust third options."
Pilzer Klein, P.C., could not be prouder to provide Vallejo with $2,500 in financial support courtesy of the firm's Fighting Cancer Scholarship. The scholarship selection committee has no doubt that Vallejo will put this financial support to good use in his fight to educate, mediate, and "banish unnecessary suffering" as a public interest attorney.
About Pilzer Klein, P.C.
Don Pilzer and Kevin Klein offer comprehensive Social Security Disability representation to South Carolina clients. Pilzer Klein, P.C. prides itself on making our representative efforts accessible to all parties who need to pursue additional support and justice for wrongs done to them in civil court.
Pilzer Klein, P.C. specifically views the relationship between a client and an attorney as a long-term commitment. Clients can request in-person or by-phone meetings, depending on their availability, as long as they want to pursue their case. Pilzer Klein, P.C. does not give up on a client's case, regardless of that case's circumstances.
Parties in need of representation when applying for Social Security Disability or appealing a denied claim can call on Pilzer Klein, P.C. for legal aid today. Reach out online or by phone to schedule an initial case consultation with the team.
Contact Information
Don Pilzer
Pilzer Klein, P.C.
Greenville, South Carolina
United States
Voice: 864-235-0234
