Leave it to Carl...

to provide some priceless memories.

Justin had his 6 month follow up with the pediatric surgeon who monitored his progress while wearing the helmet. Carl has taken him to this appointment once before but forget exactly where the office was located so he spent roughly 20 minutes wondering around Children's Hospital looking for her office. But, all things happen for a reason and the tardiness resulted in our son becoming a tv star. His Dr. is being featured and there was a camera crew in the waiting area filming. Carl said J walked up to the camera and waved. I'm sure that footage will be included as they had Carl sign a release; but the story should be posted to the DMC website in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to see it.

Goodbye helmet, hello freedom

Justin is officially done wearing the helmet. The Dr. wants to see him in 6 months for a final check but we're done, YAY!!!

You'd think he'd be more excited about no longer having to wear the helmet. Oh well, I'm excited enough for the both of us.

3 more months

Justin had an appointment with the pediatric surgeon on Friday to check his progress and she wants him to continue wearing his helmet for 3 more months and then we'll be done. Since I wasn't at the appointment I don't fully understand the reason why. She explained to Carl that she wants to take advantage of the next 3 months, which I don't get, only because his weight gain has slowed down so I'm not sure how much better it'll get if he's not experiencing a growth spurt. But at least we have a definite end date in sight. Justin has an adjustment appointment with the orthotist on the 29th so I'll see what she says then.

Adventures in babysitting

I've been watching Aiden on Thursday's and Fridays since Carlene went back to work in August. But last Friday was the first time I had to travel with both boys by myself; Justin had an appointent to have his helmet adjusted. Surpsingly, it wasn't that bad. I put Justin in his stroller and attempted to put Aiden in the sling, which he doesn't like much when he's awake, so I ended up holding him and pushing the stroller.

Justin has been responding well to the helmet and I can clearly see a difference. The doctor wants him to continue wearing the helmet a couple more months to maximize the results, but I'm hoping that maybe he'll be done with it at his next adjustment.

2nd helmet adjustment

2 months into wearing the helmet and Justin continues to make progress. His head grew 1/8th of an inch since last month so Danielle shaved more off of the back of his helmet to allow room for additional growth.

Helmet adjustment

It's been a month and a half since Justin started wearing the helmet and I'm already noticing an improvement in the shape of his head. It's still flat in the back but is starting to round out and his head doesn't slope as much from the top to the back. The orthotist took his head measurements which definitely prove that the helmet is working and shaved off some of the padding in the back of the helmet to allow more growth in the back of his head. I know we still have a ways to go, but in true Georgina fashion, I asked based on his progress how much longer she thought Justin would need to wear the helmet. She still thought he would need to wear it for 4-6 months but to keep up the good work and she'll see us back in a month for another adjustment. I'm hoping by then there's even more improvement and we'll be closer to 4 months than 6.

Check out my helmet

I finally got my helmet today and I'm not happy. Can you believe I have to wear this thing 23 hours a day, you guys know I don't like being restricted. AND I'm teething, not a good combination. But check out my new look and tell me what you think. It's not pretty but at least I'm still cute, I think!

Justin

Jedi Warrior

Its been 2 months since Justin was originally fitted for his helmet so we had an appointment yesterday to take new measurements. They now scan the baby's head instead of casting it. It was kind of neat, seeing a mold of his head automatically pop up on the computer screen. Justin looked like a little Jedi warrior in the cap.

I did voice my concerns/frustration with how long this process is taking. According to Wright & Filipis the hold up has been my insurance company. Medicaid will automatically cover the cost of the helmet, but only after they receive a denial from the primary insurance. Apparently they just received notification from my insurance that the claim was denied. But we still have the hold up with Carl's insurance. I've been to Department of Human Services twice and left the necessary information for Justin's case worker to update our insurance information in the system, but nothing. I've also been calling for weeks now but can never get anyone on the phone. At this point I'm fed up so I told Wright & Filipis to just bill me for the helmet and I'll submit a claim for reimbursement.

So frustrated

It's been a month and a half since Justin was fitted for his helmet. A few weeks ago I received a letter from my insurance company stating that my claim may be denied if they didn't receive additional information from the doctor. So I called Wright & Filippis to see if I needed to do anything and they told me that they were handling it and had already requested additional documentation from the doctor. I mentioned that Justin also had Medicaid to see if they tried to bill them but apparently they're still showing that Justin is covered under Carl's insurance, which was discontinued last year. They told me that I need to contact my Medicaid case worker to have them change that information in the system, which would be fine if I knew who that was. I had to call Justin's social worker from the NICU to find out who I needed to contact and she gave me Justin's case number and other pertinent information. (Side note: One would think that this is something I would've received shortly after Justin's birth, but no, I got nothing. One day an insurance card just appeared in our mail). Anyway, I just received that contact information but haven't had a chance to call yet. Besides, when I talked to the doctor's office they told me that they had written a letter of medical necessity so I thought I would be covered. Apparently not.

Two weeks have passed and still no news, so I called Wright & Filippis today and I'm told my insurance denied the claim. Okay, was anyone going to tell me. I'm so frustrated with the customer service in the health care industry. I should've been informed in the beginning that they won't start making the helmet until they have insurance approval. That way I could've been more on top of things, or maybe we could've paid out of pocket and then submit a claim to our insurance for reimbursement. Now I have to deal with the Department of Human Services, which I've heard can be really slow. I've already called 5 times and can't seem to get anyone on the phone. Looks like I'll be making a trip to their office first thing tomorrow morning.

We've lost a month of treatment, and I'm frustrated because we're missing the optimal time to see the best results.

Justin's getting a helmet

Justin had an appointment with the pediatric plastic surgeon on Thursday and was diagnosed with torticollis and severe plagiocephaly. She prescribed physical therapy to treat the torticollis and a cranial helmet to correct the plagiocephaly. We were sent for x-rays to rule out the possibility of craniosynostosis, which is a premature fusion of the sutures in the head. Craniosynostosis can cause head shape deformities similar to deformational plagiocephaly and may require surgery to remove the suture. We also met with the orthotist who fitted Justin for his helmet. Since each helmet is custom made it will take about 2 weeks to make, but once received, he'll need to wear it for 23 hours a day for 4-6 months. It's going to be a huge pain, but if left untreated, he may experience other medical issues later in life, and obviously we want what's best for him so we'll suck it up for a few months. Here's a picture of what the helmet looks like.