An insurance company has pledged to make sure a speech-impaired toddler gets the medical help she needs — after the child’s mother was made redundant twice in the past year.

Single mother Alvina Brangman had begun fundraising to ensure her two-year-old daughter Eleah Basden could get extensive assessments for verbal apraxia at Boston Children’s Hospital, as reported in this morning’s print edition of The Royal Gazette.

Ms Brangman was told by insurers Argus that the estimated $5,000 cost wouldn’t be covered by her health insurance plan, as the condition was pre-existing when the policy was agreed.

But Argus has now said it will pay for Eleah’s treatment and will work with other clients struggling to pay for medical care due to job losses.

Michelle Brock Jackson, Argus’s executive vice president of group insurance, said: “Obviously, the recession has hit people. We are trying to work with people so people don’t need to fundraise.

“We take pretty seriously our commitment to our clients. It’s obvious everybody is feeling the recession. When job losses happen, we want to work to ensure that medical treatment continues when necessary.”

Ms Brangman, 40, told this newspaper: “We started noticing just before she went one year old that Eleah wasn’t saying any words at all. When she got to about 15 months, she still wasn’t saying any words.

“Dr [Sylvanus] Nawab is her paediatrician. He said ‘you need to do some testing with her’. We were going to try to go to Boston and then I was made redundant.”

The Boston trip was postponed after Ms Brangman lost her job as an account manager with hedge fund company FX Concepts in January last year, as she was without medical insurance.

But when she found full-time work again in September with Supermart, she returned to Dr Nawab’s office with Eleah to “get the ball rolling in regards to her going overseas”.

An appointment was made for March but last month Ms Brangman was made redundant for the second time, just as she was finalising travel arrangements for Boston.

She managed to secure an individual health insurance plan with Argus but was told it didn’t cover Eleah’s apraxia, prompting her to hold bake sales and organise a sponsored walk to raise money for medical fees.

Ms Brangman said she was determined Eleah would have the tests and get treatment to help her speak.

“She is very frustrated, of course, because she can’t tell us what she wants. If someone has taken something from her or her favourite TV show has gone off, she goes into a very high tantrum.

“She says a few words. She can say ‘up’, ‘open’ and ‘tongue’ — that’s when I am cleaning her teeth. She’s able to say her ABCs and she can count to ten. Otherwise than that, she doesn’t say any other words. No mama or dadda. She has never said mama or dadda.”

Government’s Child Development Programme and the Health Department diagnosed Eleah as having apraxia of speech but the equipment needed to do further tests isn’t available on the Island.

Dr Nawab told this newspaper that because Eleah’s case was “complex” she needed to be assessed by experts who weren’t available in Bermuda.

Ms Brangman has another daughter, five-year-old Anae Brangman, who also needs to visit Boston Children’s Hospital in March due to tumours on her forehead. Ms Brangman was told Anae’s treatment would be covered by the Argus policy because the tumours appeared after the plan was set up.

The little girl previously had a non-malignant tumour removed from her eye but her mother doesn’t know yet if the two new tumours are benign.

“I just hope that she’s not going to continue to get these tumours for the rest of her life,” she said. “Sometimes she complains that she’s in pain and she’s aware that they are growing.

“I just keep trying to encourage her to know we are going to get help for her and that the tumours will be removed soon.”

Ms Brangman described the sisters as “both very playful” despite their health issues. “With them, it’s a new adventure every day. I just want to get the best help I can for them.”

Ms Brock Jackson said: “Argus would have covered the treatment for Anae. We are now going to cover both Anae and Eleah and we are going to work with Ms Brangman and the children to make sure the medical treatment is covered.”

She said Eleah would now be tested at the “excellent” Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

“As a result of the recession, there are unfortunately a number of people that can fall through the gap as a result of a redundancy or other related matters when they move to an individual plan,” Ms Brock Jackson added.

“However, we look at cases on an individual basis and work with our clients to ensure that their medical care continues.

“In the case of Ms Brangman’s daughter, we were able to find her more cost-effective testing at an excellent hospital in Toronto. This reduced the cost for Argus and enabled Ms Brangman’s daughter to have access to the care she needs. We work very hard to find solutions for our clients, particularly in the current economic climate.”

Ms Brangman said the money she had raised so far would pay for her health insurance policy, with the rest going towards a college fund for the girls.

Anyone who can help Ms Brangman find work should e-mail her at albrang@northrock.bm.