Isabella fight against UnitedHealthCare

Email us at griggsfive@charter.net with comments or suggestions. Please, please help us if you can! Video Text: I'd like to introduce you to an amazing little girl This is Isabella She recently celebrated her 4th birthday Her beautiful life has been filled with complex medical issues and complications Her medical diagnosis include: *esophageal atresia * PDA, ASD, VSD, and heart defects * epilepsy * mild hearing loss bilaterally * Celiac disease * severe oral aversion with g-tube dependence She has endured 6 major surgeries, including open heart surgery, as well as 9 minor procedures She has spent over 150 days in the hospital during her lifetime She has over 20 scars on her tiny body to attest to her struggle, Despite it all, Isabella is a dazzling, energetic, and feisty little girl She has endured more pain, suffering, and surgery than most adults do in a lifetime Because of her extensive health history, Isabella never learned how to eat, and has received all nutrition through her g-tube for most of her life. Now that most of her restrictive health issues are behind her, Isabella wants to learn to eat like a normal child, but she doesn't know what to do, as she has never been taught how. Her oral motor skills are uncoordinated, and when she tries to eat, she will often gag, choke, or vomit. This is very scary for her. Isabella's medical team attempted an intensive inpatient feeding program at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. During this 2 week program, doctors and psychologists attempted to help Isabella overcome her fears of food and increase her eating. Isabella failed the program . . . . . twice. CHW doctors recommended a world renowned 6-8 week intensive program at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD In October of last year, KKI doctors evaluated Isabella and felt she was a good candidate for their program For the first time in her life, we felt Isabella might have a chance at eating like a normal child. We had hope. But now, because of our insurance company, United HealthCare, that hope is dwingling fast. UnitedHealthCare refuses to approve or pay for admission for Isabella to Kennedy Krieger Institute We filed an appeal, and it was denied Over the past year, Isabella has grown to despise her g-tube feeds. For unknown reasons, tube feedings cause her pain and discomfort, and Isabella will scream, cry, and hit herself in the face and stomach Then she will vomit, causing expelling the very food she needs to stay alive Tube feeding using a slow drip pump also causes pain and vomiting, and poses a risk of aspiration if done while sleeping Isabella would much rather eat like other children her age, but UnitedHealthCare won't give her that chance She will not voluntarily take bites of food -- she does not know how and it scares her We have tried to force her to eat - But Isabella's aversion to food is so severe; she will do anything to avoid eating She will cover her face, clench her teeth, turn her head away, gag, and vomit It's not pretty, is it? We do this 4 times a day, every day. And after all this struggle, we still need to give her tube feeds -- causing more pain and United HealthCare thinks this is perfectly acceptable Kennedy Krieger Institute has helped many children similar to Isabella overcome their fears, aversions, and inabilities to consume food orally and eliminate the need for tube feeding Please, someone, HELP us! Our United Healthcare policy specifically approves inpatient hospitalization -- this is what we are trying to get approved They have denied her treatment, claiming it is nutrition based (an exclusion in our policy)- this program is NOT nutrition based! This program addresses the medical and behavioral issues associated with oral consumption of food. We have paid our premiums for coverage which includes inpatient hospitalization We have multiple doctors who will attest to Isabella's need for this program And we have a world renowned hospital providing proof of the effectiveness of this type of treatment on Children like Isabella And yet we still cannot get United Healthcare to approve this program for Isabella We cannot afford to pay for it out of pocket and if she does not receive this treatment, she will likely be tube fed -- her entire life. United Healthcare, PLEASE, give Isabella a chance to learn to eat and spare her further pain and suffering Please pass this on to your family and friends. We hope that by spreading awareness we can somehow get Isabella the treatment she needs. We don't know where to turn next, so we are hoping a viewer can offer us useful advice or information. Thank you for taking the time to watch this video. Ben and Stephanie (Isabella's Dad and Mom) griggsfive@charter.net