We are fighting hard to resolve our problem with Medicaid. We hope to have some positive results very soon.

I want to write a few lines about what Jeremiah and Shelly are dealing with.

Yesterday Landon had a doctor's appointment with his surgeon in Winston-Salem. I was there and the appointment went very well. The doctors had ordered an essential fatty acids test for Landon a couple weeks ago. The blood was being drawn by the home health nurse and sent to a lab for testing. The test results have not come back yet. As it turns out the lab where they were sent to only does this test when they have a "batch" of test to do, which can be several weeks. Landon needs to have this test done on a regular basis and needs the results quickly in order to detect any problems and correct them quickly. So, the doctor sent them to a lab in Winston to get the test done quickly. When they arrived at the testing center the nurses started to draw blood from Landon's arm. Jeremiah stopped them and explained why they couldn't do that. They must draw the blood from his Broviac tube. The nurses at the lab did not know how to do that so they sent them back to the surgeons office to get it done. When they arrived back at the surgeon's office they learned that the surgeon and nurses were all in surgery. They ended up having to call a nurse from the NICU at Brenner's to come over and draw the blood. Landon must now return to Winston every week for this test to be done. This was just the beginning.

After leaving the surgeon's office for the second time they went to the pharmacy at Baptist Hospital to obtain several prescriptions that the doctor had written for Landon. Most of these prescriptions can only be filled at Baptist. They ran in to the same problem that they have encountered several times now. The pharmacist at the window told them that these prescriptions would have to be sent up to the NICU unit that they don't give them to the patient. They tried to explain that Landon was not in the hospital and that he is being treated at home. They ended up calling for the head pharmacist. She recognized them and authorized the prescriptions to be filled.

Landon's TPN and lines have to be changed every day at about 2:30 in the afternoon. They ended up having to change his lines in the doctor's office and adding the lipids in the car. These things must be done in a sterile environment to avoid a life threatening infection. It's scary to have to do them anywhere besides home or the hospital.

By the time they got through and headed home it was 3:30 and had already been a long stressful day. But Landon was in a wonderful mood, happy and playing. Taking in the world around him.
EJ