Possibilities

Got a call about that intensive therapy program at Cincinnati Children’s on Friday. Seems like Dr. Tinkle and Paula, the PT, feel that Emily would benefit greatly from it. Stephanie, who is the PT in charge of the program, said she was urged to get Em into the program because she needed it. I assume Rebecca, the OT, was one of those who were in favor of Em doing this program.

Anyway, it would be 2 weeks of twice a day PT, some pain management and psychology, and Child Life/Integrative Medicine. It would be a wonderful opportunity for Em – it could make a huge difference in her life. I mentioned her cranial instability/POTS to Stephanie and she said that they dealt with those routinely with this population, so they would manage.

The biggest concern is insurance: our insurance almost certainly won’t pay for it. And if it does, it will cover 60% at the most. There is no way we can pay for this therapy – the bill would be in the thousands.

I mentioned BCMH – which is a supplemental insurance for disabled kids in Ohio. It is diagnosis specific, so Stephanie is hopeful that Em will qualify. When I researched it, I found that Dr. Tinkle is on the list of approved doctors, so I am really hoping we can get this insurance. It would  basically cover things our insurance won’t cover, so that would be a huge help for us as everything at Cincinnati is out of network. It will probably be the difference between Em getting this therapy or not, so I am really praying for it to work out.

Stephanie said she would talk to the social workers there and they would look into it and let us know. I hope to hear from them soon – maybe today. The first available dates for the program at June 13 – 24, so I am doubtful that we will be able to do the first one. There is another one in July, so I am hopeful for that one.

There are a lot of questions we have – what about lodging, etc? Ronald McDonald House is across the street, so maybe that is an option. I would probably go and stay with her, leaving Andrew to go to work and Luke staying home. Em is trying to keep an open mind, now that she realizes we won’t drop her off for 2 weeks!

Trying to be patient until we know more…