As we were driving home tonight I was trying to think of the words to answer the frequently asked question, "How are you and Terri holding up?" When I opened up my E-mail I received a great gift from Terri who always speaks from the heart. Here is a more perfect answer to that question than any my analytical mind could ever come up with:

Hi everyone...

I believe in the power of prayer ... and I believe with all my heart that the prayers for Matthew did keep him from needing a trach and a ventilator...and I believe that prayer is what got us home last week ... and that is what is keeping him so strong and doing well ..... We need prayers...

I am asking again for continued prayers ... that Matthew will be approved for SSI and Medicaid for the Disabled ..... Mike & I ran out of insurance at $250,000 (which was months ago.... The insurance company was in error for the past several months telling us that we had a 2 million cap .... we found by a co worker of Mikes, that Metro had changed the policy on Jan. 2005 that babies born w/ congenital defects would only be insured up to $250,000) and now Matthew does not have coverage ... THIS IS A NIGHTMARE FOR US as you can just imagine.
We simply cannot pay these mounds of medical bills which are expected to be @ 5 million billed already.... Matthew is going on his 5th month in the hospital... Had we known back in May our coverage was only $250,000 ~ we most certainly would have applied for aid back then... instead of scrambling in September.

We have applied for aid beginning of Sept. ... but I was told by Social Security that it could take a minimum of 120 working days to find out if we are approved or not approved.... If he is not approved... he will not be eligible for Medicaid for the disabled.....If he is not approved ... we will have to appeal ... and it could go on and on..... I am begging God that he gets approved...

Once he gets home ... we will need to get prescriptions for him that could cost hundreds of dollars a month ... and he is going to have to see his pediatrician, cardiologists, pulmonologists, gastro internists on a regular basis ... etc.... we will have to pay that out of pocket... on our own ... and we simply will not be able to cover these types of medical bills....
Mike and I are so fearful ... we have no where to turn ... we don't know what we can do... All we can do is to apply... I have heard that "Mike makes too much money for Medicaid" and yes ... we do make more than the $32,000 that is allowed for 3 people to qualify for Medicaid...
We are an average middle class working family ... but at his salary as a police officer we can't pay these bills...
As Matthew will need care for the rest of his life...
And will need several more valve replacements for the rest of his life...
All this without health insurance (because we simply ran out!)

All we wanted was to have a baby and have a family... and this is what is happening to us.... Not only are we scared out of our minds for the health and well being of our precious little baby ... whom God has blessed us with....
We are scared out of our minds as to how we are going to care for him w/o insurance....

Does anyone have any suggestions....?? I was told by the hospital social worker that we have done all we can and to sit back and wait...
It is hard to sit and wait when we have no idea what is going to happen... I feel desperate......

Thank you for listening... and helping us to figure out what we can do.

Terri, Mike & Matthew