They flew here from Pakistan. Very cute kid. Nice little boy, plays on the swing in the tree outside. He has holes in his heart. The landlord in the duplex let them stay for free while they found out if he could have the surgery to live at Hermann. The doctors agreed to perform for free, but we found out last week the hospital charity board turned him down. They'd need 1 mil. They earn about 200 a month in Pakistan. Nice couple. I heard about another one of these where the number was 1 mil. Apparently there are charity brokers who will raise 4 mil with your kids picture and keep the 3 mil. 1 seems to be a common number. In this case, I don't see it. The surgeons have already spoken about it. The "costs" are use of facilities that are already there. It's just that someone else isn't using them. The system seems set up to force desperate people into a fund raising scam. Well, my short-term neighbors are going back to Pakistan. And their son is going to die. All in all, I think it really sucks.
I don't understand why hospitals don't do some pro bono cases? How can you simply turn a kid away to die, if his condition is correctable. Terrible. DD
My 17 YO daughter had to have 3 surgeries for various ventral and atrial septal defects. Plus she had to have the lower third of a rib cage fabricated out of sea coral. All this between ages 3 and 9. It cost nowhere near $1 Million-- trust me! Right now she kicks ass. If that child is healthy enough to be out in the yard playing, his heart problems can't be that much more complex can they? Something is amiss.
I am very glad for your kid, giddyup! I'll see if I can find out any more. But upshot is, they got turned down for the hospital facilities. I'm sure there's a line of people who want to use that operating room, from all over the world.
$1 miilion dollar surgery? Never heard of that. Heart transplants are abotu the most costly surgery I know of, and they run $150-200k or so.
That's terrible and something doesn't sound right at all. If I were you, I'd alert the local media and I mean right now. Look em up and call 13 and get Zindler on the line or somebody at another station. Seriously, if they haven't left yet, consider yourself on the clock, I'm begging you to try this out.
Well that just stinks. Honestly, I think it will work out (at least I hope it will). There has to be something else behind it. Maybe since I doubt they have insurance the "$1 Mill" is straight up. Perhaps insurance would pay most of it (?). Welllll anyway while the topic is on surgery... I have a "choice" to get one myself, although not quite... Just got back from D.C. where I saw a doctor that wants to correct my pectus (excavatum, btw). Turns out, I would've had the same surgery done by Cooley (yes, THAT Cooley) in '98, but the parents thought he was too old (typical Jewish worrying). Instead I had an awesome crow-type bar in my chest!!! Did nuthin'. So now I gotta decide to either have the major, painful, long recouperation/hospital stay operation either this or next summer. This comes after my emergency bowel ressection in Feb. (that cost qqqquuuuiiiite a bit AFTER insurance; I'll say, umm, cough, Mercedes range ) I didn't think I was worth it. A car would've been pretty cool. But anyway: A.) Any suggestions and B.) I hope that kid gets well!
I agree that it sounds very strange. What you suggest, Oski, might help... who knows? What a nightmare for the child and the parents. I didn't look at this thread for a long time because I have 2 young children and I knew this would depress me. And it has. Mr. Mooch, Dr. Denton Cooley was my Dad's heart surgeon and also did some other procedures on him. Seems that after he cracks open your chest, he wants to make sure you stick around. I met him several times and I can say without reservation that your parents dropped the ball. The man is brilliant. Good luck in the future with your problem.
Man I can't agree with you enough!!! I really liked the guy, and I really wanted him to do the operation. From my parents' standpoint I suppose the fact that they thought he might "mess up" since I was extremly skinny at the time might have been a valid worry.... ..but I mean, it's freakin' Dr. Cooley!!! Very nice guy. (The way you described getting my chest cracked open doesn't sound appetizing to me, unfortunately). Back to the kid... What about Shriner's?!?!?! What about the Good Samaritan Clinic (can't remember the name of the particular one my dad practiced at); can't they help any? Someone should contact Dr. Red Duke...
how tragic! what is our society turning into?! is money more important than life and the future of our next generation..???
Pasox2, Get a hold of Marvin Zindler. He's got lots of contacts in the medical profession & this would definitely make a great human interest story. He does a lot of stories about children & people that can't afford a lot. Just let him know that a child is going to die, because such & such hospital doesn't care about anything but the bottom line. You might try getting the kids medical records to him as well. Good luck.
THanks for your interest. Yes, I had my numbers and places mixed up. I'll try to get more info next time. I'll also snap his picture and move faster --- they already left. My wife corrects me and sez the price was $ 140,000 or so. The hospital was Texas Children's, not Hermann. The other case I was mixing it up with was a transplant one of her Bunco club ladies had to buy for her son. (uninsured). That cost a mil. She raised it herself - with dinners and baseball games and letters etc. There are professional fundraisers who do this sort of thing and the hospitals will hook up the uninsured with them. I really liked the kid and the parents. It definately made me think. There's so many cases like this. I don't like our medical system. I'm generally a free market person but our insurance system isn't free market. There's not direct accountability as in an end-user pay system. I'd think a lot of proceedures are unneccessary or could be performed by nurses or others with less costly training. We're not going to find the answer in one thread in this forum but I think its going to be time to revisit this as a political idea in the coming election cycle.
i agree on this whole-heartedly!!! what will happen to our poor community. i mean, life can be unfair. just cuz you dont have that green paper that has numbers in it doesnt mean you dont have the right to have the best medicine and health support available today. i hate it when it comes down to debates like this, does really money dictate the way we live? i really wish that boy the best of luck to his health! i hope our leaders can see this issue and do something about it! our government is f*cked up!
