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the eric update - day 109: approved for rsv shots!

we learned recently that little odin has been approved to receive shots to help prevent him from getting something known as respiratory syncycial virus (rsv). healthy, full-term babies can often weather a bout of rsv with no ill effects, but micropreemies are at much greater risk for developing llife threatening complications from the virus, so we're very happy that he's going to be getting a monthly shot of "humanized monoclonal antibodies" which are marketed under the brand name of Synagis® (palivizumab).

rsv is the leading cause of viral death in children under the age of five and each year each year, as many as 125,000 children are hospitalized with serious rsv disease.

since odin was born at 25 weeks and is less than 6 months old it's not terribly surprising that he was approved to receive that shots as we enter into "rsv season". what is surprising is that our insurance company is going to not only pay for the shots, but they're also going to pay for a nurse to administer them at home, which will help us avoid risky visits to our pediatrician's office, which is the very place one would expect to encounter snot-nosed kids spreading the virus like wildfire.

home delivery of the rsv medicine can cost anywhere between a $1,000-$2,000 a shot and must be given monthly, so many micropreemie parents who have insurance plans that don't cover the injections can find themselves in the uncomfortable position of choosing between food on the table or giving the child a potentially life saving medicine. i subscribe to a preemie discussion board that's flooded with messages from distrought parents who are struggling to figure out how they are going to pay for the rsv shots after their insurance company deemed them ineligible.

needless to say, we're feeling mighty fortunate that we're not going to have to pay a single penny for the shots.

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10/21/2004 11:31:00 PM 4 comments

4 Comments:

Wow!! How awesome. And, that is great you can avoid taking him in to the ped's office for the shot. Avoiding the doctors office as much as possible is always a good idea for tiny babies. But, when they're older of course that's when they decide it would be really cool to put a waiting room toy in their mouths. You guys have awesome insurance!!

By Blogger Candy, at 8:10 AM  

That is great!! Ricky had RSV when he was a year old and it was not pretty. The day he was released from the hospital after his bout with it, the shot was approved by the FDA. D'oh!

Definitely a good thing to get that shot.

By Blogger Unknown, at 11:06 AM  

Just wanted to say congrats on getting the RSV shot approved and especially for home delivery; that is great! I never realized how difficult it could be to get until I started reading all of the messages on the board as well. WOW! The nurses at our NICU just told me that Darsie would be getting them. I'll have to start looking into it now as she will come home Decemberish.

By Blogger Shannon, at 11:31 AM  

Ha - We have the same boppy and the same RSV booklet here. Susan got her shot last week. Our insurance won't cover an in-home shot but we went to a clinic that seemed to be doing only Synagis this time of year so it was easy and unstressful.

I'm so, so thrilled little Odin is home and doing so well.

Molly in New Orleans

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:41 PM  

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"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."

the complete tales & poems of winnie the pooh

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this site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.

he's quite a fighter and you can always send him a postcard to the most current address listed here if you're inspired by his adventures. see the postcard project/google maps mashup to see a map of the postcards.

if you're new, you can browse the archives to catch up. and don't forget to watch a few movies that i made while we were in the neonatal intensive care unit. or if you want the abridged version and you can find a copy, you can read about his adventures in the november 2005 issue of parents magazine.



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