A new bill has finally made it to the Healthy Care Committee. CHD Awareness week is coming up and several organizations have asked for Hoosiers to send letters to Indiana Senators. I am not one to usually partake in this. I usually sit by the sidelines and watch and see what happens. However, I felt like I should do this. If it didn't get passed and I didn't do anything, then I would feel guilty forever. It is a bill to make the pulse ox test a routine part of the newborn screening. It is that little red light that Stella had on her toe during surgery and while she was in the NICU.
It tests the oxygen level to make sure oxygen is being pumped throughout the body and the heart is working properly. It can't detect all heart defects, but it can defect those that are life threatening. Babies have left the hospital and died days later at home because of these CHDs going undetected. I cannot imagine this happening. So I did it. I wrote a letter to an Indiana Senator and hopes she takes the time to read it.
Dear Senator Becker,
I'm writing today to ask you to support House Bill 552 currently in front of the Senate Health and Provider Committee. I live in Allen County, Indiana. We had our first child in March 2009. We were thrilled. She came out screaming and kicking, so she had to healthy, right? Wrong. We soon found out she had a CHD. One of the most common birth defects of a newborn. Luckily, they found this in the hospital while she spent time in the NICU for other complications. Had she not spent this time in the NICU I'm not sure they would have caught it because she had not other symptoms early on. If I would have been like some other women I have heard about and taken my "healthy" baby home only to lose her in a few days because of an undetected heart defect I would have been devastated followed by feelings of anger. I have learned more than I ever thought possible about CHD's (not by choice) and was shocked to find out that something as simple as a pulse ox test is not mandatory in the hospital. I would not have known to ask for one of these. After spending time in the NICU and Riley's Children's Hospital and seeing how simple the pulse ox is to administer...I was even more shocked. It is simply taping a little light to the baby's toe! That's it! The equipment is already in every hospital. Up to 30% of babies with a CHD might leave the nursery undiagnosed. And to think this simple test could save some of these lives. It seems like a very simple answer to me. I know to ask for it with my next baby, but is it really fair to those women who don't know? Shouldn't every woman and every family have an equal chance to bring home a baby fully aware of his or her health conditions?
Thank you for considering this bill. Your decision to support this bill would save the lives of so many. With this bill in place, no baby in Indiana will ever go home with an undetected heart defect...and that is something to be proud of.
It tests the oxygen level to make sure oxygen is being pumped throughout the body and the heart is working properly. It can't detect all heart defects, but it can defect those that are life threatening. Babies have left the hospital and died days later at home because of these CHDs going undetected. I cannot imagine this happening. So I did it. I wrote a letter to an Indiana Senator and hopes she takes the time to read it.
Dear Senator Becker,
I'm writing today to ask you to support House Bill 552 currently in front of the Senate Health and Provider Committee. I live in Allen County, Indiana. We had our first child in March 2009. We were thrilled. She came out screaming and kicking, so she had to healthy, right? Wrong. We soon found out she had a CHD. One of the most common birth defects of a newborn. Luckily, they found this in the hospital while she spent time in the NICU for other complications. Had she not spent this time in the NICU I'm not sure they would have caught it because she had not other symptoms early on. If I would have been like some other women I have heard about and taken my "healthy" baby home only to lose her in a few days because of an undetected heart defect I would have been devastated followed by feelings of anger. I have learned more than I ever thought possible about CHD's (not by choice) and was shocked to find out that something as simple as a pulse ox test is not mandatory in the hospital. I would not have known to ask for one of these. After spending time in the NICU and Riley's Children's Hospital and seeing how simple the pulse ox is to administer...I was even more shocked. It is simply taping a little light to the baby's toe! That's it! The equipment is already in every hospital. Up to 30% of babies with a CHD might leave the nursery undiagnosed. And to think this simple test could save some of these lives. It seems like a very simple answer to me. I know to ask for it with my next baby, but is it really fair to those women who don't know? Shouldn't every woman and every family have an equal chance to bring home a baby fully aware of his or her health conditions?
Thank you for considering this bill. Your decision to support this bill would save the lives of so many. With this bill in place, no baby in Indiana will ever go home with an undetected heart defect...and that is something to be proud of.
2 comments:
*Tears* ((hugs))
Love you!
Oh goodness, shouldn't have read this at work...tears. I really hope this gets passed. When I asked for this test on Madeline, one nurse didn't even know what I was talking about. You're so right, it's such a simple test, they should just do it without you having to ask for it.
Post a Comment