Meet Logan Young—a Kosair Kid
"But we learned our two-week-old
baby needed heart surgery," Casey recalled. Logan’s
pediatrician had detected a heart murmur and recommended the
operation to correct it. "We were devastated,"
Casey said.
Logan is among the eight of every
1,000 infants born in the U.S. each year with heart defects.
While many infant heart problems can be repaired with surgery,
some cannot; currently about 1 million Americans suffer from
congenital heart defects.
As preparations for Logan’s surgery began, the breadth of
his problem became apparent. "The way the hole
was in his heart caused a backflow of blood," Kevin said.
"Without the operation, Logan’s lungs could have been
damaged."
Just a week following Logan’s heart
surgery on December 2, 2003, his doctors proclaimed the operation
a success and began talking about sending him home.
Then the Youngs learned the backflow to Logan's lungs had
increased his risk to Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which
sends more than 90,000 infants and children to the hospital
every year with respiratory infections and pneumonia.
"We thought
he was out of the woods, but Logan was more at risk to RSV
than he was to heart failure," Kevin said. "Exposure
to RSV could be fatal for him."
As a wicked
flu season began, closing the local Caldwell County schools,
Logan's surgeon ordered a series of monthly Synagis shots
to ensure his recovery, at an estimated $10,000 for seven
shots. Casey contacted their insurance carrier about
paying for the shots, only to learn the shots weren't covered.
Even a letter from Logan's surgeon didn't change the insurance
company's position.
"There's
not much help out there for people like us," Casey said.
She is a staff assistant in the Kenergy Corp. district office
and Kevin works as a small engine mechanic for a farm supply
company in Fredonia where the family lives.
They were
considering a bank loan when Casey shared the story with Beverly
Jones, a nurse practitioner at the Hopkins County Health Department.
"We didn't know about Kosair, but Beverly did."
Soon Casey was on the phone with Kosair Charities’ and faxing
details about Logan’s critical need for the shots.
Kosair Charities offered to help the
Youngs provide Logan the type of life every child deserves: a
healthy one. By covering the cost of four of the
vaccinations, Kosair Charities changed Logan’s life.
"We can
tell a big difference already," Casey beams. Logan
has more energy and stays awake longer. Before surgery,
Logan weighed less than nine pounds. Just three weeks
after, he topped 12 pounds. He's doubled the amount
of fluids he drank before the operation and now eats cereal
as well.
The Youngs
say their introduction to Kosair Charities was an unexpected
blessing. "We didn't know anything about Kosair
Charities and all the good they do for families all over the
state," Casey said. "But we’ve encouraged everyone
to support Kosair Charities it was such a big help to us and
to Logan."
Logan is expected
to heal completely and rapidly from the heart surgery.
Thanks to Kosair Charities, he escaped what could have been
a deadly exposure to flu. And, he'll have something
his parents feared he might not ever have—a healthy life.
"Before
you know it," Kevin says, "he'll be playing soccer
and baseball, just like his big brother."
Kosair Charities — protecting the most precious gift
of all, thanks to the generosity of caring people like you!
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