My dad saw the gastro-intestinal doctor again yesterday. He had outpatient surgery where they endoscopically placed a shunt in his pancreas. Their hope is that it will help drain the pancreas and cause less pain for my dad. They called yesterday to let me know everything went well. The only bad thing was my dad couldn't eat for the rest of the day. I guess the shunt will stay in for a month or so. They will then remove it. The doctor said this could have to be done a couple of times before the full effect is reached.
Some other good news is that my parents will not have to pay for my dad's medicine. They sent their financial information to the pharmaceutical company and they have agreed to send them a 3-month supply for a year for free. After a year, they'll review his financials again. His enzyme replacement drug is $375 a month, and the other one is about $50 a month. That will save them $425 a month. Yeah!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
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6 comments:
I don't completely understand the "shunt" part. It sounds painful and uncomfortable. I hope it works to help your father.
Good to hear the pharma people are going to help your dad out. I'm sure their expenses at this point are enough of a financial squeeze. Heck, the minor things for us killed our cash this year.
I'm not sure what a shunt is either. That's the bad thing about not being there to ask questions, and my parents don't always remember or ask.
That's wonderful news about the medications. I wonder if the shunt just reroutes the fluid in the pancreas to where it needs to be?
Either way, I hope it works out well.
Great news about the medications. Hopefully your dad will soon be on the mend.
I recently went to visit my Canadian grandma. She's been a lifetime diabetic (type 1). Her prescriptions cost $6 each, but she has to pay for needles (which she's currently lobbying against). I know there are a lot of cons to socialized medicine...but it can't be ALL bad.
I’m currently working on post-grad debt, and enjoyed your blog.
I’m blogging my “adventures,” too; here: http://shauna26.wordpress.com/
A shunt is a good thing as it facilitates drainage. My dad had one to alleviate bleeding in his brain during his stroke episode. (Long story. It was one of the complications of treatment.)
That was great that your parents called the pharmaceutical company and got a deal. I wonder how much my folks are missing out on by me not being around them to help out, or because they speak English as a second language. They are competent, but I wonder if they are missing out on deals because my mother simply doesn't have time to research something like this.
*curious*
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