A college student fights an insurance denial to get a prosthetic foot before graduation

Gabrielle Guerrero was 15 when doctors told her that her life would never be the same.

“They were like, ‘You’re young and energized, but you’ll never be able to walk again without assistance,’” said Guerrero, of Burleson, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth.

She had been riding in an off-road vehicle with her siblings when it hydroplaned and flipped. Guerrero’s left foot caught in the door. After more than two weeks in the hospital and two surgeries, it ultimately had to be partially amputated. Guerrero lost all of her toes and about half of the front of her foot.

To get around comfortably, Guerrero, now 21, wears a custom prosthesis.

“When I walk barefoot on hard floors, it’s very, very painful, I can feel the callous, the pressure on it,” she said. “So when I wear that prosthetic, it takes that pressure off.”

But six years later, the prosthesis had worn down. Two of the fake toenails had fallen off and a tear down the back made it difficult to stay in place. “It was literally disintegrating,” she said.

That first prosthesis had been fully covered by Guerrero’s insurance provider, Aetna. However, Aetna denied coverage for the new prosthesis, writing in a September letter that the request was “improperly coded” and a prosthesis “for appearance, comfort, or convenience is not considered medically necessary.”

“I was honestly just in tears because of the anger,” she said of the denial. “I don’t understand how comfort isn’t medically necessary.”

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She had a deadline in mind: her December college graduation, where she hoped to walk across the stage wearing the new prosthesis.

NBC News reached out to Aetna for comment eight days before Guerrero’s graduation. A spokesperson said the company would look into the details of her case.

Several days later, Guerrero received a second denial.

With the date rapidly approaching and no resolution, her mother made the decision to put the $7,500 cost for the prosthetic on a credit card. The device was ready to go, but Guerrero couldn’t take it home until it was paid for.