Michigan Couple Battling Insurance Company for Baby’s Survival [VIDEO]
The Kentwood couple says that their insurance company is refusing to cover the potentially lifesaving surgery for their newborn son.
Heather and Greg Puruleski, who live just outside of Grand Rapids, have been living at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor since their son, Jonah, was born on April 26th.
He weighed 3 lbs 12 oz at birth, and was also born with an extra chromosome. It's called Trisomy 18, and most infants born with it don't live past early childhood. For Jonah, it's resulted in heart defects. There is a risky surgery that could possibly help, but doctors at U of M say that they won't do it because the risk outweighs the benefits.
The good news? A doctor in Ohio has offered to do the surgery and wants to transport Jonah immediately. The bad news? The Puruleski's insurance company won't cover it because it's out of state.
“As a mother, to think that an insurance company is going to tell me whether my child is going to live or not… It’s really hard to grasp that this one little hurdle could prevent us from taking him home,” Heather told WOOD-TV.
Jonah would need more surgeries after this initial procedure, but his parents say that they just want to be able to bring him home to be with his siblings for as long as possible. There is a GoFundMe page set up to help raise money for the procedure.
Why, WHY do we live in a country where a person's health is determined by a company? In this case, it's survival. I'm sorry, but this story disgusts me to no end.