Imagine getting a letter in the mail declaring that you’re dead. Now imagine you’re reading it… because you’re not. That’s exactly what happened to Bonnie Wilkes, a 59-year-old woman from Canton, Ohio, who is very much alive but was mistakenly reported as deceased, and the fallout is turning her life upside down.
It all started when Bonnie received a letter from her insurance provider, Anthem, on July 9. The letter stated that her benefits had been terminated due to a report from Medicare indicating she had died, back on May 1. Bonnie, recovering from a serious leg injury that landed her in the hospital, thought at first it had to be some sort of cruel joke. But unfortunately, it was reality for the Ohio woman.
“I mean, this is crazy. I can’t do anything, my life is stalled,” she told WOIO. “I looked online for my obituary.” You have to admire the dark humor, but the reality is far from funny.
Ohio Woman Deals With Deadly Nightmare
After receiving the eerie letter, Bonnie ran into wall after wall. Her pharmacy wouldn’t fill her prescriptions because their records said she was dead. Thankfully, her doctor’s office stepped up and ensured she got the antibiotics she needed, for now. But that was just the beginning of the chaos.
She had to physically show up at the Social Security office with a photo ID in hand to prove that she was still breathing. The Social Security Administration confirmed her in-person visit on July 14 and acknowledged that she is, in fact, alive.
Sadly, Bonnie’s troubles are fare from over. Her biggest fear is that her disability check won’t come on the first of the month. And with rent, utilities, and basic necessities hanging in the balance, she’s understandably terrified. “My biggest fear is being evicted. Not being able to pay my bills. I can’t even use my food card,” she said.
To make things even more bizarre, the Anthem letter mentioned a Railroad Retirement Board benefit, which Bonnie swears she has nothing to do with. “I never worked for a railroad; I have no idea what that even means,” she said. So now, in addition to proving she’s alive, she’s trying to prove she never worked on a train.
Bonnie Is In Jeopardy Of Losing Everything Because Of A Government Error
When Bonnie went to check her bank account, she got hit with another bombshell. The bank manager said she needed to come in and sign documents just to prove who she was. “What are you talking about?” she asked, exhausted. “I’ve worked my whole damn life. I’ve had surgery, brain surgery, broken bones, you name it. It took me seven years to get disability, and I was still trying to work.”
Honestly? Bonnie deserves a medal just for holding it together. Instead, she’s scrambling to undo a clerical error that has literally erased her from the system.
WOIO reached out to both Anthem and the Akron Social Security Office. Anthem has provided documents and promised to investigate. Social Security says they will contact Bonnie directly. Meanwhile, some state reps have been looped in to help figure out how this even happened and how to fix it.
But for now, Bonnie Wilkes remains stuck in a limbo no one should ever experience: alive, but legally dead. And unless someone steps in fast, this mistake could cost this Ohio woman everything.
Hunter Spears 
Kenna Raye 
