Sunday, April 11, 2010

An Abandoned Farewell

I wrote this a week or so ago and must have purged it from my system then because I only now just realized it never made it to the blog. We will catch up on Easter and babbling and procedures coming soon, but for now we say good bye to a dear friend and frustrating enemy:

End of an Era

Dear Synagis,

We had our last visit with your painful magic yesterday (now a week ago). It was bittersweet.


The doctor says he’s certain the insurance company will not approve another season for us under your protection. They tried to keep us away this year. But we fought. We were approved. And the RSV came. I’m convinced you save Mac’s life. Check Spelling

No, there will be no more. They say by the age of two McKay will be strong enough, big enough, to fight RSV all on his own. It’s a gamble they play between the cost of the shot, the odds of him getting sick, and the time it would take him to heal in the hospital if it got to that point. Let the cheapest outcome win.

So here we go. Growing up bit by bit. Becoming more confident in our judgment. More confident in our little man’s ability to hold his own. More aware that the rationing, the committees of people who qualify and disqualify patients for care, and the casualties of those decisions are real. They exist. They’ve always existed. Knowing that the people who deal in fear mongering, half truth, and rumor do so to distract our eyes from how broken and inequitable the system they’ve created has become. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by advocates who know how to navigate your twisted paths. Who slay the dragons that block our way and lead us back to safe havens.

So good bye Synagis. You’ve been a $30,000+ comfort. Overpriced and worth every penny. We’ve hated you. We’ve loved you. We’ve needed you. We will miss you.

4 comments:

likeschocolate said...

It is sad that this shot cost so much. It shouldn't have to be about the cost when you have children who are so compromised like our children. Roman got shots for 6 months then we were cut off. He had his first cold about 6 months after that, but thankfully it wasn't too severe and he stayed healthy enough to keep him out of the hospital.

The Simmons Family said...

I am SO thrilled to be done with Synagisis... FOREVER!!!!!!

The Smith's said...

We, too, had such a love/hate relationship with synagis! Luke wasn't approved for a third season (he turned two mid-season so they denied us). We were okay with this since our cardiologist was okay with not fighting it. These decisions can be so tough, but you're right, by this time next year Mr. Mac will be so much stronger even than he is now!

By the way, I wondered the other day if you were doing Boston? If you are, GOOD LUCK!!!

Stefenie said...

Logan was right on the borderline when he turned two in November of the last year we were able to the shots. However our cardiologist wrote our insurance company a letter and we were able to get him the RSV shots. The next year we were told a big N-O.

The shots are a love hate thing but what a blessed protection they are. It takes some getting used to knowing that they no longer have that protection. We just worked extra hard to protect him the next RSV season.