My son, Paul, will die without a heart transplant. But the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania refuses to put him on the transplant list — because he’s autistic.
Paul is only 23, and he’s amazing. He was diagnosed with a deadly heart condition four years ago, but he battles through it with a smile. He’s smart and creative — we just self-published a story he wrote, and he’s working on a sequel. He loves his nephews. And the whole family loves him.
I don’t know how to tell my son that his doctors refuse to give him the operation that could save his life.
I promised Paul that I would fight for him with every breath, no matter what it takes. But I’m afraid my voice alone isn’t enough. I started a petition on Change.org asking the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to put my son on the transplant list — will you sign?
Paul’s doctor says one of the reasons he doesn’t qualify for a transplant is that he can’t name all the medications he’s on. This is ridiculous, because Paul takes 19 medications. My son has faced discrimination because of his autism all his life, but this time, that discrimination could kill him.
I was devastated when I found out the hospital wouldn’t help Paul — it was the worst moment any mother could imagine. But then I read about another mom who got her mentally disabled daughter on the list for a life-saving kidney transplant after more than 50,000 people signed her petition on Change.org. That’s what inspired me to start my petition for Paul. I know that if enough people sign my petition, the hospital will give my son a chance to survive.
Please sign my petition asking the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to put my son, Paul, on the list for a heart transplant that could save his life.
Thank you,
Karen Corby |
I signed the petition w/ cc to U of P hospital. Yesterday & today I received ~7,000 e-mails from Change.org reading the same each time. Spam filter has some trouble blocking these. Someone must have cracked firewalls to create this nuisance. I’m now in doubt if the story is true.
that’s terrible – is anyone else having this issue?
I promise you that it is a change.org issue and this story is very real. We still have not found a hospital who cares enough about my son to save his life. To be perfectly honest, change.org is useless and only cares about the petitions when they are getting media attention. I am so sorry about the issues you are having after signing it but thank you. We still continue to fight for my son’s right to live.
Dear loving parent,
I just signed this petition for the following reason:
I think that this is a worthwhile petition because hospital are in fact controlled by insurance companies, and insurance companies should not have this kind of control over a patient’s life and/or access to medical care….when a death can be preventable.
Additionally, have you ever wondered why there are differences in coverage amounts paid to doctors for the same services?
Why do you think the insurance industry spent 7 million dollars in one week to challenge President Obama’s Healthcare Law? Needless to say, on July 2, 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of President Obama’s law declaring that it will be unlawful to deny individual policies and prohibit insurers from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions.
Patients are being discriminated against on many levels by the insurance industry. Non-insured patients have always struggled to find adequate medical care. Now, insured patients may struggle to find quality care based on who their provider is because of “concierge selection” by doctors.
Once again, I think that this is a worthwhile petition. If you can be so kind to sign my petition it will be greatly appreciated. See: Protect the Rights of Medical Malpractice
Victims Change.org…..Click On: https://www.change.org/petitions/protect-the-rights-of-medical-malpractice-victims
Your truly,
Sylvester Traylor