The cost of two weeks in an pediatric/infant ICU
I've decided to share a hospital bill from one of my daughter Sterling's shortest ICU stays. My little girl lost her battle to complications arising from her congenital heart disease on May 11th 2021. Why am I sharing one of her (pre-insurance) bills? Because, why not? If I can't change the issue immediately, I can at least try to bring attention to how insane it's been, in a pandemic, no doubt.
Sterling was born with a rare variant of a heart disease called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome on September 8th, 2020. She was ultimately diagnosed with a very rare genetic condition called Kabuki syndrome at three months old. Like other syndromes, features of Kabuki syndrome can be mild or severe. Unfortunately, Sterling was severely affected by hers.
Sterling was in a pediatric ICU for 207 days, through 4 ICU admissions. Thankfully, we were able to experience life at home with our little girl, albeit not for long. She got to meet her (fur) brothers, her room, her crib, the beautiful sunsets of Lake Michigan/Chicago/Gary, Indiana, bath times, some family, etc.
