Skip to main content

Questcor, at it again...not that they ever weren't

Do you know how difficult it is to pound out a post. With a 30 lb toddler on your knee. Cranky and clingy.



Because he just had half of his brain removed.



With the goal of gaining seizure control. To beat back the Monster inside his head. Which...according to the team of neurologists from Children's Hospital of Michigan...was attacking his developing brain more often than there are seconds in the day.



And that after two rounds of Acthar. (you can read about the hell we went through to access it for our son here and here) The drug with the hefty price tag (click here if you're curious what 60k looks like...keeping in mind that a whole course runs about 125k). The drug with the hefty price tag belonging to Questcor.



You know...the ones who sponsored Infantile Spasms Awareness Week.



Come again?



You say...you missed it?



Hmmmmmmm...



Could it be that it wasn't ever really about bringing awareness to the population at large.



But rather to their target demographic?



The FDA.



Because if you'll remember...I mentioned before (before I had a 2 year old recooping from radical brain surgery) that they would be doing so. I also speculated...would ironically do so during the same timeline of their so-called awareness week.



Turns out I was right.



According to this press release Acthar was resubmitted to the FDA on October 15th, 2009.



Interestingly followed just a few days later by an expansion of their of their management team...read more here. If you don't mind that churning stomach feeling.



I know there has been some differing of opinion regarding the so-called IS Awareness Week.



My grudge runs way too deep to be swayed. A passion that burns deeply in my soul to protect other families from living the hell we did.



In fact...this is precisely why I could never join hands with a company like Questcor.



And for the record...



I spend EVERY day of my life LIVING INFANTILE SPASMS AWARENESS.



There is not one person whose life touches my own that I have not attempted to educate ad nauseam about the complexities of Infantile Spasms. I am just as passionate about creating awareness as I am about not sleeping with the enemy.



Comments

Adesta said…
D, I've decided to be angry on your behalf, on Trevy's, Jonathans, Bri's, and even Toby's behalf about this.

I'm still baffled by this company and hope that Quinn gets the treatment she needs soon!!!
JSmith5780 said…
I was dumbstruck when I heard about Quinn not getting her ACTH in a timely fashion. Have they NOT learned their lesson????

On the QSC message boards they attacked Erin for commenting that Vig costs $1500 a MONTH (before insurance coverage) AND the child could be on it for two years. All I could think is I'd STILL rather pay $36K for two years of seizure control than $125K of perhaps seizure control for ACTH!!!!!
Anonymous said…
next time you want to pound keys just wait until Trevy wants some snuggle time with me. When he wants to snuggle I'll let you have pound the keys time-- Deal or No Deal
Grams
Anonymous said…
Vig for $1500 a month is still criminal. Same drug, same manufacturer, $250 a month from a Canadian pharmacy.

Popular posts from this blog

I cried when I got the news

I felt like such a heel not going with Trevy for his first post hemi EEG. Yeeeeeees...Jonathan went with him. Yeeeeeees...he's just as good as me. But still! He's my baby! I was instead sitting on floor 6 east waiting for Neurology to get their boots here and help me sort out this medicine mess! Seriously it's like a bad joke...how many Neurologists does it take to write a bloody script? And fax prior authorizations? Cause Trevy's been back for hours now. And I'm STILL waiting! Anyway... Jonathan had just stepped out to meet the pizza delivery guy when Dr. EEG made his rounds. Of course I asked immediately if he had read the EEG. Of course he had. That's why he was there afterall. And I cried when he told me... that for the first time in almost two years. For the first time since this whole crazy mess began. my baby's EEG is completely normal! Side Note: It's super fun to sob in front of Japanese men and watch them squirm When I kept repeati...

I sure hope...

they grow back curly! Saw the "unknown" flashing on the face of my cell phone and knew who it was. Who it had to be. Dr. Fellow. My eyes met Grams' and I nodded. Grams has a pool, see. For super hot days like today. We're also having a septic installed. Which meant no water or facilities at my place. But those weren't really the reasons I was there. Close to mom. The purple ringing thing in my hand was. Only I wasn't prepared for it to be ringing SO darn soon. Shortly after lunch instead of dinner! I swallowed. Took a deep breath. And clicked connect. Dr. Fellow has a very nice phone tone. Clear. Hint of compassion. If only a stitch of humor were added...it'd be heavenly. But there was no humor. Just business. He's very direct. I'm learning that about him. Which explains his short hello. Followed by immediately pushing into the news. Being that it was a unanimous consensus. The entire surgical committee feels Trevor is a good candidate. And then p...

it's like being asked to the prom...

only MUCH MUCH bigger! I had noticed (yes...I stalk my site meter!) that a government ISP had logged onto Trevor's blog. Whoever it was had spent a good deal of time hanging out too. Followed a few minutes later by a government ISP...hailing from Washington. As in DC! My eyebrow raised. It was just kinda odd. Note-able odd. You know? Anyway...later that day (last week) I was folding laundry & thinking my crazy insane thoughts. Along these lines... I hope I'm not saying anything I shouldn't! Maybe I made somebody mad? Wait a minute! I live in America! I'm allowed to say anything I want! Aren't I???? A shout from the other room interrupted my thoughts before I had a chance to further mull. It was Jonathan. I had just received an email. **Side note...he's always doing that! Reading my emails! Sheesh!*** The said email was from a US Senator's aide! Asking if he could speak with me. Little ole' hardly has time to splash some make-up on ...