NTNP December 9th - December 15th

[Rdesonia]

Originally Posted by KatieB621 Update: I spoke with Eli's PED. He said his L5 Vert. looks as if it isn't completely fused together. L5 is pretty far down the spine, so that's good news. The farther down the spine the problem is the better. He's referring him to a PED neurosurgon at Memorial Hospital in Savannah (an hour away and the only Children's hossy in our region...I think they are a CMN hossy). He said that the next step is usually to take an MRI of the area, but because of his age they will need to put him to sleep to do the MRI. He's leaving it up to the new dr. to determine whether he wants to do an eval on him before an MRI or not. He's also going to refer him for the Babies Can't Wait Program (its the Early Intervention Program in GA for children birth to 3). Through them we will have another evaluation and some therapy. My husband doesn't want to "take a government handout," so I have to do some reasearch today as to who actually funds the Babies Can't Wait Program. I'm almost positive that the government pays for it.....I personally have the opinon that our tax money funds it and our child NEEDS it, so we should take advantage of it. Hopefully I can convince him of that as well. Pray for me in that respect. Now we are just waiting to get word as to when his appointment might be with this new doctor. Dr. Deal, his PED, didn't want to go ahead and "label" him with SBO, but he said that with what he saw on the x-rays and his dealys that there def. is something worth taking a look at further. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and thanks for all of the concern

My Daughter is in Early Intervention. At least in my state... it is 100% free and they never asked our income or what insurance we had. It is through the school and the Dept. of Education. (Some states do it different). I'm sure your husband would not look at public education as a handout since it is paid for with tax dollars. Schools do this because in the long run it SAVES them money. It helps the kids that need help to get help early. In the long run it is cheaper to get a child help early than to wait till they are 5. The children have better outcomes and long term need less educational services like 1 on 1 Aids in the classroom.
I like the program. A worker comes to my house for 1 hour every 2 weeks. She plays with my DD. She brings educational toys. She also gives me handouts and suggestions for areas to work on. If needed she will consult a physical therapist. Once DD turns 3, I have the option of home visits or a preschool like program at the school.

[KatieB621]

Originally Posted by Rdesonia My Daughter is in Early Intervention. At least in my state... it is 100% free and they never asked our income or what insurance we had. It is through the school and the Dept. of Education. (Some states do it different). I'm sure your husband would not look at public education as a handout since it is paid for with tax dollars. Schools do this because in the long run it SAVES them money. It helps the kids that need help to get help early. In the long run it is cheaper to get a child help early than to wait till they are 5. The children have better outcomes and long term need less educational services like 1 on 1 Aids in the classroom. I like the program. A worker comes to my house for 1 hour every 2 weeks. She plays with my DD. She brings educational toys. She also gives me handouts and suggestions for areas to work on. If needed she will consult a physical therapist. Once DD turns 3, I have the option of home visits or a preschool like program at the school.

After we sat down and really talked last night, it isn't the issue of a "handout" that he really is opposed to. He has a few more valid concerns about it. It isn't that either one of us don't want to get him help, but DH would pefer that we look at all of our options....including Private Therapists.....before we decide anything. He also has a very valid point in the fact that no one really has told us WHAT EXACTLY DS needs. He wants to see what the neurosurgeon says before we jump into anything. I understand that point. I think we've both been bombarded the past few days that we really need to have a moment to digest what we already know before we rush into making any decision. DH really wants to look into a more private intervention approach. I really do understand his concerns and his desire to look into every avenue before we decide anything. We difinately will be getting him some kind of intervention before school age. DH has assured me that we won't waste time, but at the same token look at everything that is available and then decide what is best for our family AND DS.

I don't want anyone thinking that we aren't looking into ANYTHING. DS will get what he needs, but DH is more of the type to not rush into any decision. I think this quality in him is what makes us mesh so well together. I tend to jump into irrational decisions....he on the other hand considers all aspects of the problem and looks ahead to see potential problems that I never thought about before any decision is made. Together, we get what needs to be done....done....but we also, many times, avoid other pitfalls by reallydoing our homework ahead of time. I hope that clears up any misconceptions anyone might have had about our family.

[lynn97]

Originally Posted by KatieB621 After we sat down and really talked last night, it isn't the issue of a "handout" that he really is opposed to. He has a few more valid concerns about it. It isn't that either one of us don't want to get him help, but DH would pefer that we look at all of our options....including Private Therapists.....before we decide anything. He also has a very valid point in the fact that no one really has told us WHAT EXACTLY DS needs. He wants to see what the neurosurgeon says before we jump into anything. I understand that point. I think we've both been bombarded the past few days that we really need to have a moment to digest what we already know before we rush into making any decision. DH really wants to look into a more private intervention approach. I really do understand his concerns and his desire to look into every avenue before we decide anything. We difinately will be getting him some kind of intervention before school age. DH has assured me that we won't waste time, but at the same token look at everything that is available and then decide what is best for our family AND DS. I don't want anyone thinking that we aren't looking into ANYTHING. DS will get what he needs, but DH is more of the type to not rush into any decision. I think this quality in him is what makes us mesh so well together. I tend to jump into irrational decisions....he on the other hand considers all aspects of the problem and looks ahead to see potential problems that I never thought about before any decision is made. Together, we get what needs to be done....done....but we also, many times, avoid other pitfalls by reallydoing our homework ahead of time. I hope that clears up any misconceptions anyone might have had about our family.

I never thought anything ill off your family and didn't gather that anyone else did. Big hugs to you. Try to relax and wait to hear what the neurosurgeon says. It will all work out!!

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[TeachinAuntie]

I'm not sure where the money for Early Intervention comes from, but I do not consider it a handout.

In our situation they billed our insurance & then their funds covered any "co-pays" that we would have been responsible for.

If your kid needs therapy, get it, fast, the sooner the better.

We actually paid for therapy for 6 months while we were in the queue for Early Intervention. Our son needed therapy quickly to correct his issues and we spent HUNDREDS of $$s we didn't have on it, then when we finally got into EI we did BOTH for several weeks until we were sure EI could do as good of a job as what we paid for through the Children's Hospital.

[ashliemh]

Katie: I think your tests from yesterday look really good Will continue to pray for you and your DH and DS. I think it is very wise to wait until you have all the information about what is going on to make a decision. And for what it is worth, I think you sound like a great mom who wants to do what is best for her baby