When we were being discharged from the hospital to begin a new life at home with a medically fragile baby, we were brand new to this medical world. The hospital gave us some choices of DMEs but we were choosing blindly. We had no idea. Because Sadie was ventilator dependent and on such a rare circuit, the hospital helped us choose a company that had experience with her rare circuit.
As we made the transition home, many of our home nurses did not have any experience with our original DME. We began to have instances when we didn’t feel like we had very good customer service. Many times when we believed we should be receiving certain supplies, the DME would tell us to get the paperwork, orders, or letter of medical necessity ourselves and then they would attempt to get it for us. I felt like we were doing all of their footwork. Any time I was frustrated with my other company, my home nurses would ask why I didn’t choose Apple. In their experience patients were always well taken care of with Apple.
I made the call to Apple, telling them we were interested in switching. The person I spoke with was kind and helpful, but not pushy. She even let us know that because of a certain medication Sadie received that she could have diapers and wipes paid for by insurance.
We weren’t even a customer yet!
I had the last straw with my old DME when they would not provide a g-button for us when the kind we had been defective over and over. They told us to go to the hospital. Going to the hospital is a risk for all kinds of germs, and it's the last place a baby on a vent needed to be if they are not sick.
That’s when we called Apple. They were able to get us a g-button and a backup while were transitioning.
We have had zero problems with Apple. They go above and beyond to meet Sadie’s needs. They are always available for communication, and will even bring supplies on the weekend or late in the day if we need them. Apple does the footwork for us, because that is what a DME is supposed to do. I will and have recommended Apple to those who need a DME or are not happy with their current DME.
We are so thankful that so many people work so hard to take care of our sweet Sadie make our complex life a little easier.