In May of 2008, Wyatt Reese Leamon, aka "Pie Man" was a happy, healthy baby with a loving family and an adoring older brother. That all changed when a standard ear infection prompted doctors to prescribe Wyatt a common antibiotic called "Amoxicillin".
On May 22nd, 2008, he was admitted to Rady's Childrens Hospital in San Diego, California, for what appeared to be a nasty rash.
Click play on this clip to see what happened next...
On May 22nd, Wyatt was admitted to Rady's Childrens Hospital in San Diego, California with a rash and possibly dehydration. The family was shocked to discover that he was suffering from acute liver failure. The doctors seemed to get it under control and even briefly released him from the hospital only to re-admit him within two days. A week later, the family was told Wyatt would need to receive a liver transplant.
Because of how the current American medical system works, Wyatt's health insurance company, Cigna required him to be transferred to a "Certified Center of Excellence" to receive what was supposed to be the highest quality care for liver transplant surgery. Unfortunately, the system failed Wyatt and after a series of questionable decisions and delays by the staff at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, Wyatt passed away while being wheeled into the operating room for his life-saving transplant.
Wyatt never received his chance at a transplant and his family was by his side the entire time. When he passed away peacefully on the afternoon of 6/22/08 (30 days from being admitted in San Diego), he was in the loving arms of his mom as family and friends said their good-bye's to their little Pie Man.
Wyatt's Leamonade Stand
This was an on-going photo album taken mainly with cell phones as the family experienced the tragic events which led to Wyatt's passing. While these photos can be graphic and heart-breaking, the family hopes they will help others recognize similar symptoms in their own children should a drug or viral-related attack on the liver take place.
Wyatt's Story - Full Version
Wyatt's Story: A Father's Retelling of How the Health System and one of our Nations Best Hospitals Failed a 9 Month Old in Need of a Liver Transplant chronicles the journey of Wyatt Reese Leamon who fought liver disease for a month while waiting for a liver transplant only to succumb the morning of his life-saving procedure. How this could've happened is at the heart of the story with full accounting and description of the observations made by Wyatt's family during the struggle and written in complete, raw detail by Wyatt's father just days after witnessing his son's passing.
