In November of 2001 the neuro surgeons installed a Baclofen pump into Brandon.  After he recovered from the surgery the doctors and insurance companies were in a big hurry to discharge him even though he was still having fevers of unknown origin and what seemed to be pain. I fought to keep him in the hospital and even threatened that if anything happened after discharge that they would be held responsible.  I also wrote a letter to the head of the hospital of all the problems we had and how dissatisfied I was with the way they were disregarding Brandon’s ongoing symptoms. The heads of the hospital came and spoke to me and the next thing I knew we were being discharged, without any consult from the dentist or oral surgeon they had on call at their hospital! I was so angry and frustrated I didn’t know what to do. I told them I wouldn’t leave and they told me that I would be responsible for the bills from the next day on, so I took Brandon and left!

Within days of leaving the hospital I found an oral surgeon that would see Brandon, when we got to his office he tried to accommodate us but because of Brandon’s inability to sit straight up and hold completely still they couldn’t get the oral x-rays they needed to diagnose his teeth. He referred us to another oral surgeon that treats people with special needs. She saw Brandon in the hospital under a general anesthetic and when she came out of the operating room and sat down beside me she confirmed everything I had known from the time the fevers started. Brandon was completely septic as well as his teeth were severely broken and infected that he had to have 9 root canals,  2 teeth extracted and several crowns needed; $23,000 later! It was going to take 3 surgeries to complete all the work, and overnight hospital stays each time as well as him having to undergo a general anesthetic each time. She told me the cause was because Brandon’s mouth had never been evaluated and teeth never examined before the oral surgeon fixed his jaw.  The hardware (4 plates and 16 screws) to fix his jaw is what caused most of the infection along with the broken teeth that had abscessed.   So after the first surgery Brandon started getting better! He even was able to eat applesauce and yogurt. After each surgery he continued to make progress.