Elizabeth,

Humana, a medicaid hmo, refused to cover the solu-cortef & my exhusb refused to pay for it.  I relied on EMS, having spoken to them previously about the availability of liquid hydrocortisone & they assured me it was readily available especially in cases of shock.  When they arrived they said they did not have it, didn’t understand the medical condition I was trying to explain to them, & wanted to treat her for a heart condition when she went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance.  I begged them to crush up the solid meds I had & mix with water & inject & treat her with electrolyte solution in an IV.  They kicked me out of the ambulance & told me to let them do their job.  45 minutes later, they arrived at the hosp(which was only 5 min away from my home) where she was given IV fluids &large doses of liquid hydrocortisone.  The heart specialist there tried to explain her medical condition to the ems people at the hospital & she was transported to a trauma hospital in grave condition. The heart specialist brought in a neurologist that evening to test for brain activity & asked me to take her off the machine that evening as he found no activity.  I kept asking him to wait a day or so, but he said she would expire on the machine eventually.  So, I sang her a lullaby & asked if he knew a priest to do her last rites and kissed her & told her I will always love her.