Monday, October 24, 2005

It's All About the Eyes

This week we are focusing on Judah's eyes (and a cold he and Tucker are both trying to fight).

Tuesday, Judah sees Dr. Abrams, one of his opthamologists, who sees him regularly to check his vision, pressures if she is able, and his visual development overall. At our last visit, she recommended patching Judah's right eye for up to two hours a day. I'm happy to report that we did manage to work up to two hours a day which leaves us with greater confidence that Judah is seeing out of his right eye well!

However, upon a recent visit with Judah's neurologist, Dr. Comi expressed concerns that his eyelid may be covering a portion of his pupil, and perhaps adversely effecting his overall visual development. I will mention this to Dr. Abrams tomorrow at our visit with her, and I wonder if she'll recommend having the eyelid surgically lifted. We are certainly praying that won't be the case.

Additionally, Judah is scheduled to have another EUA (evaluation under anesthesia) to acquire an accurate assessment of his glaucoma status on Friday, November 4th. For a myriad of reasons, Lawrence and I would like to postpone this procedure. We would feel most comfortable doing so if Dr. Abrams also felt there was no reason not to postpone the EUA.

Please pray that:

  • Judah and Tucker will recover quickly from their colds without suffering from breathing complications as they have in the past.
  • Judah's vision will look good, and we will be able to postpone his EUA.
  • Judah will not need a lid lift surgery.

Thanks for praying! I may post again this week to let you know what was determined at our visit with Dr. Abrams.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Appeals Are Worth It

I just received a phone call today that our appeal was granted, the denial to cover Judah's laser treatments overturned. THANK YOU, LORD!!!

Our insurance company will cover treatments through to the end of the year, and we'll have to re-submit our request next year if we remain with our current provider. We are unsure about what the future holds regarding our health coverage as Lawrence's employer is currently looking through other packages from different insurance companies with the probable intention of switching. Needless to say, switching insurance companies every year can become quite a logistical nightmare; although, the decision to do so is somewhat out of our hands.

Please thank God with us that:
  • our insurance company will cover Judah's laser treatments through the end of the year.
  • we were able to schedule two more laser treatments for Judah before the end of 2005.

Please pray that:

  • Lawrence's employer will choose a health insurance provider whose plans will carry all of Judah's doctors and medical care through Hopkins.
  • we will find insurance coverage that will be affordable (that really would be an act of God! :)
  • we will have full insurance coverage for future laser treatments in addition to any and all the medical intervention Judah will require.

Thanks!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Beautiful Brain

Last Wednesday Judah and I met with his neurologist, Dr. Comi. Our visit went very well, and Dr. Comi was very pleased with her assessment of his development. It brought such joy to my heart as I told her about all the developmental milestones he's hit. I was very aware of God's mercy and kindness on Judah's life and little body. I also had the opportunity to actually see the MRI scans which were taken in September. All I kept thinking as I saw image after image was, "What a beautiful brain. Thank you, Lord, for his beautiful brain." There was no indication of calcification or atrophy; it was just a 'perfect', little brain. Actually, not such a little brain.

While very pleased and optimistic about what the MRI scans showed and what Judah's ongoing development indicates, Dr. Comi did raise a few other concerns. One of those concerns regards the large size of Judah's head. His head circumference is within 3 cm. of an average adult size head. More concerning was the fact that on Judah's growth curve, it looked like his head circumference continued to climb rather than level off like other children his age. Upon plotting his 12 month check up head circumference stats. however, we were relieved to see that his H.C. did appear to level off. I am to measure his head every week or so and report my findings to Dr. Comi if Judah's head continues to grow.

There are some other concerns regarding the potential significant impact of Judah's port-wine stain and whether deeper vascular abnormalities exist. She is referring us to a pediatric radiologist for further input and possibly more scans.

Thank God with us that:
  • Judah currently shows no evidence of brain involvement with his SWS.
  • We have a wonderful neurologist in Dr. Comi. She is incredibly thorough, informative, patient and compassionate.

Please pray that:

  • Judah's head circumference will not grow anymore.
  • We'll hear soon re: insurance coverage for Judah's laser treatments and that they'll be fully covered.
  • We will be able to schedule a consultation with the pediatric radiologist within a reasonable amount of time.

There are some additional appointments and concerns coming up, and I will be posting as regularly as I can on Monday's. We appreciate all who faithfully check this site and pray on our behalf. I don't know how to explain it, but we always feel your prayers, and it buoys our faith and confidence in God's protection and provision for us as we walk through this with Judah.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Forgot to Post

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will take Judah and Tucker with me to Hopkins to meet with Judah's neurologist, Dr. Comi, in order to go over the MRI results face to face with her.

Please pray that:
  • Lawrence and I will have wisdom to know what to ask of Dr. Comi re: Judah's MRI and its implications.
  • Our visit with Dr. Comi would be as comprehensive as we can make it since trips to Hopkins, though in our 'backyard', are not easy to do with the boys being so young.
  • The boys would be cooperative and as easy to manage as 14 month olds can be so as to not cut our visit with Dr. Comi short.
  • There would be a good report to share with you after our visit.
  • We would continue to be faithful witnesses to the goodness and mercy of God on our lives and Judah's life.

I will try to post an entry by the week's end re: our time with Dr. Comi on Wednesday.

Monday, October 03, 2005

God Continues to Answer

I asked for ya'll to pray that all the documentation needed would arrive to me by late last week. Friday, I received the last letter I needed to send in our appeal for Judah's laser treatments. I had a friend who works in medical billing look over the letter I wrote and all the documentation I had acquired. (Thank you, Michele Belzner!) She gave me a few additional things to include in my letter and prayed with me for the denial to be overturned.

Today, I will work on those finishing touches to my letter, and God willing, I will be sending out the entire appeal tomorrow.

Please pray that:
  • our appeal will be reviewed promptly and by medical professionals who will see clearly the medical necessity of these laser treatments.
  • our appeal will secure full coverage for all of Judah's laser treatments, which could be quite a few over the course of several years.

Thank God with us that:

  • we are seeing God hear and answer our prayers, both great and small.
  • we see the parts of Christ's body within our church and beyond who seek to serve and use their gifts for the edification of the entire church.

We wait in prayerful anticipation of God's mercy and goodness on Judah's behalf.