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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