Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Jimmy Kimmel's Baby


I just watched the video of Jimmy Kimmel telling the story of his son’s birth and how they discovered their newborn baby had a, life threatening, heart defect. This story brought back so many memories of what we experienced when Landon was born. The joy of having a new baby in the family and then, within a few hours, realizing something was wrong. The anguish of watching and waiting as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong. And then, being brought to our knees by the doctors telling us our new born baby was going to die.
In the video, Jimmy Kimmel say’s “even atheist began praying for their baby”. I’m sure that happened for Landon. At first our family, a pastor, and the doctors prayed for Landon. Soon there were dozens praying for our baby. Within days, there were hundreds and then thousands praying. We watched and prayed as the miracle began to unfold and the, two year, journey toward a transplant for Landon began.
Jimmy Kimmel spoke about something else that we feel strongly about. He said, “If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make”. In other words, healthcare should be equally available for all, no matter what your income, social status, or wealth is. No one should ever be denied medical care, because of a pre-existing condition. Also, everyone should have access to the best medical care available. Doctors, patients, and the families, should determine the course of treatment, not bureaucrats in an insurance or government office.
In May of 2009, Medicaid denied Landon the treatment his doctors, the doctors in Boston, and our family had determined Landon needed. Landon needed to be treated at the Center for Advanced Intestinal Rehabilitation (CAIR) at Boston Children’s Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts. There was no treatment facility like this available anywhere else. This was the best treatment available for Landon. Medicaid denied Landon the treatment, we believed could save his life. We were told he was denied access to medical care in Boston because North Carolina Medicaid did not have a financial agreement with the State of Massachusetts as to reimbursement or payment for medical services. The best medical treatment available for Landon was in Massachusetts. Yet, Medicaid denied him that treatment because he lived in North Carolina. In America, that’s just not right. This denial began an epic battle with North Carolina Medicaid to get Landon the medical care he needed, medical care that everyone involved agreed could save his life. I will write more about our battle with Medicaid in a future blog post.
Here is a link to the emotional Jimmy Kimmel video on Facebook:



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