Maria is a single mother of three children, who has not had health insurance for the last 15 years. Although she works hard, cleaning houses every day on Galveston Island, Texas, to provide for them, seeing a doctor is a luxury that must be weighed with making ends meet. 

But Maria is also like any good mother, who wants to get on top of her health to be there for her kids. Since finding MDandMe, it has become the go-to in her household: for catching symptoms earlier, educating her about managing her conditions, and understanding when care is necessary.

Her story is one of the 60,000+ that have led users to MDandMe. In a fast-paced, overloaded healthcare system, how can AI help us re-embrace empathy?

When was the last time you slowed down, and got to know someone else’s story?

For most of us, we interact with 20 people on average per day. For doctors, we may add to that number the 20 patients they see daily. In our lifetimes, we might encounter over 80,000 people—but we’ll only get to know very few individuals and their struggles deeply. 

Now imagine: over 100 million people, including many children, who cannot regularly access primary care in the United States alone. 

It is incredibly hard for us to comprehend just how large that number is. Our healthcare system faces stark disparities: for those living in rural areas, facing financial burdens, or uninsured, a trek to the doctors is not an easy ask. 

One such individual is Maria. In her household of four—herself, and the three children she raises as a single mom—MDandMe is the go-to source of high quality medical information since she lost her mother’s health insurance 15 years ago.  

Today, we are sharing what we learned from her story—one of the over 60,000 that have led users to Arora, MDandMe’s AI symptom checker, since January 2024. Talking with Maria, I realized the immense power of empathy: of simply having someone—human or AI—listening to your story. She reminds us to care for ourselves and all those in our lives.

Interview

Hi, Maria! It’s great to meet you, and thank you for taking the time to talk with me. Where are you calling in from?

"Of course, it’s my pleasure. I live in Galveston, Texas, Galveston Island. We just got hit by Hurricane Barrel."

Are you guys doing okay?

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I lost my car in the whole thing, but that’s the only downside of it. I went back to working and cleaning houses. Best place to do it on an island where everybody comes for vacation."

So, how do you live life, day-to-day?

"I don't overthink and I'm a down to earth person. I'm a single mom, so I get to have fun when I'm not working, and that's the best time because of my daughter. We got a Lego set yesterday. Every night, we get together and put parts of the set together."

Where do you seek medical advice?

"I used to go to my mother. She passed away, so nowadays I usually go to MDandMe if I'm trying to figure out what's going on with my symptoms."

Maria found Arora for her health worries. A while ago, she began to experience unexpected bleeding and to not be able to move her hands. 

"I don't have insurance and the luxury of getting to go to the doctor. If something happens to me, I just usually write it out and try to do the best I can to take care of myself. So I go to your website a lot. You're big in my house because y'all keep me going."

For many of MDandMe’s users, the nearest hospital is hours away. And much like Maria, those users also face daily health struggles that leave them confused, anxious, and alone, unsure of when a doctor’s visit is truly needed. 

Do you feel the healthcare system meets your needs?

"No, I don’t. I think that if you're not in a certain range money-wise, then you can be ignored. I have friends who when they go to the hospital and run their blood work, it's like they don't exist because they may be an addict. One thing that really upsets me is, if you're not in a certain great area for the healthcare system, I think it lets us down."

In under-resourced regions, the reality is that hospitals are often pushed to extremes, and doctors are overloaded with cases. The Physicians Foundation 2017 Patient Survey found that only 11 percent of patients and 14 percent of physicians felt they had enough time to truly treat a care-seeking individual. So AI tools like Arora, that can always take the time to listen, may prove critical in providing patients with unwavering empathy and understanding.

What are your health goals?

"This is gonna sound stupid, but to stay alive and raise my kids. As I said, I don't have that luxury of getting checkups. I realize now that the state offers Women's Health Choice and mom-related health things, which I need to start using. So I can make sure that if something happens, I don't catch it last-minute and then have to try extra hard to beat it."

While Arora was initially born as a symptom checker for acute needs, many users sit down and have long conversations with her about their life and chronic concerns. 

And she listens: to the teenage girl who initially felt too embarrassed to go to her doctor, to the vacationing family who cannot find medical assistance, to thousands of users who simply need someone to talk to, without fear or judgment.

Do you think AI can have emotions?

"I don’t see that happening yet. But you feel more comfortable explaining to the AI, things that you feel a bit shameful to explain to another person. You don't want someone to look down upon you or you feeling embarrassed or guilty. There's compassion in the AI."

MDandMe serves as a testament to how we can re-humanize healthcare, providing not only medical information but also compassion beyond the doctors’ office. Behind every statistic in our medical systems are real stories and people, who deserve care and have families and aspirations—just like me, just like you. 

Arora has all the time in the world to brainstorm and collaborate with you. She has listened and will continue to listen, be empathetic, and support users like you. Built whole-heartedly from MDandMe’s team, we wanted to create something knowledgeable across all medical topics, compassionate, and always there for you in full.

What message do you want to share with the world?

"Take care of yourself, especially while you're young. I'm scared to leave my girls. I'm all they have in this world. So, take care of yourself. I was ashamed to get check-ups because I was raised on welfare. 

So as a mom I'm sure I don't have any kind of government. No food stamps. I don't do that. I've done everything on my own, when I shouldn’t have neglected myself medically and humbled myself a bit more instead of everything building up now.

Probably I was a good enough Mom. I hope my kids are proud of me one day."

This is an on-going series sharing the stories of MDandMe users. Do you want your story told? Email emily@mdme.ai

Note: This transcript and the interviewee’s name were edited to maintain anonymity.