Owasso Family With Special Needs Child Struggling To Find Homecare Nurses To Help

An Owasso family is going through so much already and now has more obstacles.

Their son had a bone marrow transplant that led to a brain bleed, and it forever changed his life.

News On 6 first told you about Logyn Von Aschen when he was in the hospital for months.

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Now, the boy is home, but his family said they are struggling to find enough nurses to care for him.

Life for the Von Aschen family has not been the same since December 2023 when their youngest, Logyn, had a bone marrow transplant.

"When we went into this whole transplant, we were a walking, talking, healthy, typical 11-year-old kid,” said dad, Bradley. “When we had the transplant, we had a brain bleed that was developed that went undiagnosed for a long period of time."

His dad, Bradley, said after four and a half months in the hospital, Logyn is now home, but he cannot talk, walk or eat on his own.

The now 12-year-old needs 24/7 care.

"We're all blessed that he came home from the hospital at all,” said Bradley. “We love having him home, we love him being here. Home care is a challenge. We have to have a lot of medical equipment. We have to have medicine regiments and feeding programs."

Bradley said their insurance allows for 50 hours of home health care a week, but there are not enough qualified nurses available to meet Logyn's needs.

"They have to go through a company that our state has already approved that company's nursing qualifications and stuff,” said Bradley.

Jessica Bradley is an LPN with Aveanna Healthcare and just started working with Logyn.

She said home health tends to pay less, but it is more rewarding.

"I can go a couple of dollars less an hour to do the home health thing because I enjoy it,” said Jessica. “One-on-one, not as stressful. I worked in long-term care, and I was stressed constantly."

She encourages more people to go into home health as a career.

"How many hours are you available to work?” asked Jessica. “What hours are you available to work? So, it's a lot of flexibility in schedule-wise."

For the Von Aschen family, their focus is always on Logyn and how to work through their challenges.

"He's a tough kid, and he's definitely fighting and pulling through every day,” said Bradley.

News On 6 checked with the Oklahoma Nurses Association.

The group said Oklahoma has had a nursing shortage for quite some time and that the shortage is "a multi-faceted problem that includes working conditions and pay that is competitive with the market in other states.”

The group is also calling for improved insurance coverage for in-home care and "adequate Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates."

To learn how to help Logyn's family and follow their updates, go to their Facebook page called "Logyn's Journey” HERE