My daughter could have died. I blame US insurance companies (The Guardian, 10 December 2024)

Summary

On Thursday, Melody Schreiber's paediatrician told her to take her 18-month-old daughter to the emergency room immediately. Melody's baby needed breathing treatments she could only get at the hospital.

But after hours in emergency, she wasn’t getting better. The only question was whether to admit her to the paediatric ward or to transfer her to a hospital with a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). She finally seems to be leaving the danger zone of a PICU transfer. But she’s still on oxygen and still receiving albuterol every two hours. Melody doesn't know when her daughter will come home and how many months it will take for her to recover fully; already tiny for her age, she’s lost weight, and you can see her ribs with each breath.

Here’s the worst part: this was preventable.

Melody's daughter’s respiratory panel came back positive for RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), a respiratory infection that can be deadly in children under two, especially among preemies like my baby.

Melody Schreiber asked her doctor for a vaccination to protect her premature daughter against RSV. Then the family realised they didn’t qualify for insurance...