But what a day! When we woke up yesterday morning, you could tell right away the little man did not feel good. He was lethargic and a little warm. He was spitting up a bit more than usual, and at one point he spit up on my chest and it was just about hot. We promptly took his temperature a few times. For most people, the reading would not have said fever. His axillary (under the arm) temps were ranging between 98.7-99 degrees. Normal, I know, but he always runs between 97.7-98.1. He was a complete degree higher than he usually runs. Couple that with the hot spit up and lethargy on a premature baby and you have a need for a doctor visit.
So we called the doctor we had set up with our FirstCare. The hospital had said it would probably be better to go to a general practitioner for his normal visits so he wouldn't have to drive an hour every time. So, we call, and we are told they are not comfortable seeing babies. They would rather we actually drive in and see an actual pediatrician. So, we get back out our provider directory and start the search again. Here was the first problem of the day. It is also where I will take a short break to rant about Obamacare so if that will offend you, skip the next paragraph.
Shiloh is on one of the CHIPS programs for health insurance. CHIPS is a program that guarantees children health coverage in Texas. It is a system based on a sliding scale of household income. The bottom scale is medicaid and the top scale requires a small deductible per year. This makes sure that all children in the state of Texas have adequate coverage in their formative years even if their parents cannot afford private insurance. Well, the problem is the government has stopped paying their claims on all of these programs. CHIPS, Medicaid, and Medicare are not being reimbursed as they should be so doctors have quit accepting patients with these coverages. They know they will not get paid so they just won't accept the patient. It is almost impossible to find a doctor who will take you on with these coverages. So now think about this. In 2014, the government is supposed to start paying subsidies for individuals and families who cannot afford health care on their own. These subsidies are supposed to cover the monthly premiums for individuals who cannot afford them on their own. So, why do we believe that if the government is NOT PAYING claims on its medical programs it runs now that it WILL PAY the subsidies on time when this program goes into affect? So, if the government continues to run par for the course and does not pay the money it owes to the insurance companies like it is with the doctors, the insurance companies will be forced to deny claims and not pay the doctors the money they were promised when the claim was made. If every insurance company in America is in one of the exchanges in some state, then every insurance company will be forced to begin denying claims and not paying the claims they owe to doctors. You know what doctors will do then? They will quit taking insurance completely! If you do not believe me, come to Midland, Odessa, or Amarillo, Texas and try to become a new patient using a government health plan like CHIPS, Medicaid, or Medicare. This folks is the future of our medical system in America. While I do like the fact that people with preexisting conditions can get insurance, the rest will ruin us. Back to our story.
So, after having called many on our list and being told the same thing, we called FirstCare. They then began calling and found the same thing, but they did find one doctor who would take new patients. He had been highly recommended, and we were excited, until we called. When we tried to make an appointment, we were informed he would only accept new patients he had seen in the hospital. Crushed, we turned back to FirstCare. They eventually found us someone who would take us, but they had never heard of him, and neither had anybody at the hospital. We reluctantly called to make an appointment only to be told they couldn't see him for a week or two. We made the appointment, but still had a sick baby.
So we decided to go to the ER at the hospital he had already been at in the NICU because they would have his records. Of course, by the time we got there, he was no longer running a fever, but they put him through the tests anyway. Three hours later, the doctor said his labs were all great, but his lung xray "showed something going on" and since he was a preemie she wanted to keep him overnight. They moved him upstairs, but everyone just stayed confused. The doctor had told them bronchitis, but the symptoms didn't fit. When the pediatric doctor got there, he was also confused. He said the ER doc said the xray showed a bilateral pneumonia. He had called the NICU doc and he said put him on strong IV antibiotics for a few days, but he was hesitant to do so. His reason was he was looking at the baby and not the xray. The xray may have said pneumonia, but his lungs sounded the healthiest they have ever sounded, he was having oxygen saturation levels at 100 percent consistently, he had no cough, no runny nose, and no congestion. His symptoms were not consistent with the xray. So, we would watch him overnight to see what was what. Today he has been fine and his normal self. At this point the xray is being written off as a bad xray or a fluke. Oh, and the doctor we were admitted under was the one who came recommended and would only see new patients he had seen in the hospital! So, we got our choice pediatrician.
We did accomplish a few things this hospital stay. We upped his reflux medicine a bit and explored different ways to help reflux to be lessened. The doctor put us on a vitamin to make sure his iron and Vitamin D stay good. We finally got a weight. Last night, he weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 21 inches long. So, he has gained almost 2 lbs and 4 inches since birth! It's like the staff has told Carrie, "He was going to be a 10 lb baby!" So, that is our wonderful day zero. Now, I am going to add some prayer requests and pictures and go to church.
Prayer Requests:
- He continues to grow and improve
- Reflux would get better with age
- We can pay off the debt we have accrued since he has been in the hospital
- When his public debut comes, his immune system will handle it well
