Insurance Update

I just received a call from Tru's case manager. They received the letter from Tru's surgeon urging them to allow Tru to be treated at Dankmeyer. They also verified that Dankmeyer is eagerly pursuing approval to treat Tru. Also noted in Tru's file is the fact that Dankmeyer has offered to treat Tru free of charge.
Low and Behold... now the insurance company has agreed to cover all expenses for Tru to "go out of network" and be seen exclusively at Dankmeyer.

I think Tru must have an extra special place in God's heart!
Oh the tears of joy!

Tru's Good Fortune

The day that Tru had his cast removed he was fitted for his first prosthesis at a company named Dankmeyer. The director of Dankmeyer, Mark, was also kind enough to see Tru back in November, 2007 well before his surgery. Both of these visits have been free of charge. Dankmeyer is considered “out of network” with our insurance company.

Since his surgery last month, Tru has a case worker to handle any needs he might have. She advised me against visiting Dankmeyer for Tru’s prosthesis fitting because it would not be covered by our insurance. Dankmeyer informed me that they have worked with our insurance company in the past without problem. I knew that I wanted to work with Dankmeyer so we moved forward with them.

I received a call last Friday that our insurance company would not cover Tru if he continued treatment at Dankmeyer. They gave me the name and number of another company that could handle Tru’s needs. I dropped everything and took Tru there yesterday. The man we met with was very nice but the visit started going downhill quickly. First of all they did not have the supplies there that were needed to cast a child Tru’s age. They had never dealt with a child this young. Red flag! Then he proceeded to tell me that he does not work at that office and the person taking over the office does not start working for the company until April 1st. Then the new person would need to be trained for several weeks before they could start on Tru’s case. What?! I instantly told him, “That is not going to work and Tru is not waiting for anyone. Tru is ready to walk now.”

On the way home from our wasted trip I called the case manager and explained that we would not be working with that company. She was very surprised to hear my comments and said she would look into it. I told her to please speak with her supervisors again. Dankmeyer was ready, willing and able to make Tru’s prosthesis now. I also contacted Tru’s surgeon’s office to tell them of the hard time I was having and asked for their assistance by writing a letter to the insurance company on Tru’s behalf.

This morning the case manager called to offer me two other companies to contact about Tru’s needs. She reiterated that we were not going to be able to use Dankmeyer. I called the first location and they wanted Tru to come in for a consultation, then a fitting, then measurements, then they would have to order the supplies for his casting, etc. I told them to forget it. Then I called the second location. They seemed to have the supplies needed to care for pediatric patients but the problem was that the guy Tru would need to see is only there once a week. I made an appointment with them but the earliest they come see him was 8 days from now. Wasted time!!

I called the case manager again to tell her of my conversations and how incredibly unhappy I was with Tru’s options. I told her that I felt Tru was not getting the care he deserved. He could be one week away from walking and the insurance company is insisting on sending us from one place to the next for inferior care and at the same time wasting precious time. Of course I realize the case manager is only doing her job and I can appreciate that. At the same time I seemed to be the only one who knew what was best for Tru.

OK… Here’s the good part……

This afternoon, after the disheartening morning on the phone, I received a call from Mark at Dankmeyer. He said they do work with my insurance company but apparently Tru is being treated under a special part of the insurance plan for which they have never worked. As of today, our insurance company is starting the paperwork process to approve Dankmeyer for that particular part. However, the paperwork could take weeks or months to be completed.
Mark said, “I know you have been having a hard time with your insurance company and we are trying everything we can to work with them. I also know that Tru saw another prosthesis company yesterday and I would never recommend you take Tru to them. I have spoken with Mr. Dankmeyer, the owner of our company, and he would like you to bring Tru in right away so we can begin making his leg. We will bill your insurance company once the paperwork is all done. If they choose not to pay the costs we want you to know that we will not bill you for anything. We just want to make Tru’s leg and get him up and walking. I will be speaking with our lab today to see how fast we can make this happen. Stand by.”

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Needless to say I was speechless. All I could say was “thank you” and do my best to hold back the tears. I could not wait to call Dallas. I woke him up but it was worth it.
Then… I got to call the case manager. She was also speechless. I told her, “I told you Tru deserved the best and that Dankmeyer was the right place for him.” She said, “Apparently you were right. Someone must really be looking out for little Tru.”

Yes He is and He has once again blessed us all!

Oh Happy Day!

Happy Easter

This was Tru's first Easter. He was not impressed....

We made the traditional trip to the mall yesterday to see the Easter Bunny. Waiting in lines is not Tru's thing! During the wait he was very anxious to go to the Easter Bunny and insisted on having a direct view of him. Once it was finally our turn for a photo Tru started crying. The photography staff was very patient and worked with him and he finally agreed to sit in the bunny's lap. But he was not going to smile!

Lin-Ley of course... well she struck a pose as usual.

While waiting in line, Ma-Ma Shirley held our place while I walked the kids around.

We had drinks, snacks and snapped a few extra photos.

Surprise, surprise - the Easter Bunny came to our house last night.

After prying the candy out of Lin-Ley's little hands, she and I went to Easter services this morning. Tru has not been feeling well so he stayed home with Ma-Ma Shirley.

Lin-Ley participated with the children's choir this morning. You can count on her to always be looking at the camera.

After the service and lunch there was a big Easter egg hunt on the grounds. The younger kids all gathered in the sanctuary while the youth hid the eggs. There really is no way to hide the eggs so they basically evenly distributed them all over the grounds. The kids were split up into three age groups and each group had their own area to hunt eggs.

While waiting the kids watched a short movie and then put their names in a box for door prizes. The second name drawn.... Lin-Ley.

The anticipation was unbearable!

Can you guess who was the first one to the field? They "hid" over 700 eggs.
Each child was limited to 15 eggs. Of course each egg contained candy. We made it home with 25 eggs!

Week In Review:

Last Sunday Tru began feeling ill and started running a fever. I was able to control it with Tylenol but it kept returning. After three days of a on again - off again fever I decided to have him checked out. I called his primary care doctor and of course she could not see him. What a shocker! The triage nurse called me and told me to have him seen to make sure that the fever was not associated with his most recent surgery. She referred me to a local urgent care clinic. I called the clinic and they said they would not see Tru due to his amputation. They wanted him to see his surgeon. By this time it was around 3PM. Although I felt it was unnecessary, I called the surgeon's office. They asked about his leg and I told them that the wound looked great and I really did not feel that the fever had anything to do with his leg. The surgeon's office agreed that they did not need to see Tru. I called the urgent care clinic back to tell them of my conversation with Tru's surgeon. Still, they told me that they would not see or treat Tru. I could not believe it!

So, I had to make a decision. Did I want to give Tru more time or have him seen now? I just had to have him seen to make sure he did not have an infection of any sort due to his leg. His fever had just spiked to 104.3 and I could not take any chances.

We picked up Lin-Ley from the school bus and headed to the emergency room of the hospital where Tru had surgery. Luckily he was seen quickly and it was determined that his leg looked great and that he must have an upper respiratory infection. No medicine. But... we were in and out of the ER in under 2 hours!

This all transpired on Tuesday. Fast forward to Friday.

Tru was still running a fever. Tylenol would bring it down but it was not staying down. After work on Friday I picked up Tru while Lin-Ley stayed home with Ma-Ma Shirley. Tru and I headed to Walter Reed. By that time he had been running a fever for 6 days. Tru was seen by a young resident and she thought he might have an ear infection. Then the senior doctor came in and decided that he did not have an infection and was prepared to send Tru home with more Tylenol. I said, "Please, won't you consider giving him an antibiotic. I drove all the way here in the hopes that you would." The doctor looked and me and said, "Well.... I guess I could convince myself that he has an ear infection." Score! Tru got the Amoxicillin that he needed. He is on the mend.

So two more trips to the emergency room! But the unbelievable part is that both visits were only a combined duration of 3.5 hours!

Night, night Easter Bunny!

No More Cast For Tru!

Yesterday was the day! Tru finally had his cast removed. He had learned to crawl, scoot, and pull up in the cast. In the last few days he started climbing up the stairs in the kitchen. He also learned to use his cast to step on your toes if he wanted to get past you. From personal experience I can tell you that his methods were very effective!!

This is the last photo of Tru with his cast. He was playing in the waiting area while we were waiting to be called to the casting room. The waiting room was quite full and there were people sitting all around us. I told Tru to say “cheese” for the camera. He looked up and said “teeze” and I snapped this shot. In unison all of the people around us sighed an “ahhh”.
In the background you see Dallas’ niece Ann K. She has been kind enough to help me with Tru this week. Thanks Anna K!

Finally it was Tru’s turn in the casting room. You could almost hear the loud cast saw buzzing over Tru’s screaming! In about two minutes the cast was off and Tru was staring at his leg. He was looking from leg to leg trying to figure out exactly what was different between the two. He seemed concerned about his leg but did not want to touch it. Even though the cast saw was long gone Tru was still upset. Then he spotted Anna K’s cup of sweet tea. She handed it over to him and he did not stop until he had drained the cup. The cup, which was almost as big as he was, was half full when he started.

We hung out in the casting room while drinking tea, taking photos, and listening to the little girl on the other side of the curtain screaming while we waited to see Tru’s surgeon. Tru’s leg looks great. It is completely healed but most of the stitches are still in. They will eventually fall out on their own. The surgeon came by for a quick visit and gave us the necessary referral for physical therapy and the prosthesis. Then we were off to the prosthesis facility. Tru was measured and we discussed the type of prosthesis he will be receiving. Of course Tru did not want anyone to touch him but it was all very interesting and exciting.

Next stop – pick up Lin-Ley from school. On the way home we stopped for dinner. The main priority for Lin-Ley was to eat as quickly as possible so that she could fix her chocolate ice cream with sprinkles at the dessert bar. Once Tru saw her ice cream he begged for it. He has never had chocolate ice cream before. I fixed him his own bowl complete with sprinkles. Let’s just say he liked it enough to eat every last bite.

“Shout it from the mountain tops! I love chocolate ice cream!!”

Anna K and Lin-Ley.

Lin-Ley reminds Anna K constantly that they are cousins.












And finally Tru was able to take his first bath in three weeks!!














Now we wait for the prosthesis facility and the insurance company to agree on the proper procedures and equipment for Tru’s care. After the approval, which could take up to two weeks, it will take two to three weeks to make Tru’s first leg. Until then he will be a scooter again. We are almost there!!

Bye-Bye For Now

Dallas and Lin-Ley spent the afternoon together on Thursday. It was a real treat for Lin-Ley simply because he checked her out of school early. The trip to Build-A-Bear was just icing on the cake. When they finally made it home they brought Tru a dinosaur with a Spider Man shirt and Lin-Ley had a pink leopard with a Little Mermaid costume. Dallas had recorded a message for each of them and when they press the paw of their new friends they can hear Dallas speaking to them.

There was still enough daylight for some yard work. But first… a ride on the John Deere.

Even Airborne got in on the action.

If Daddy can drive it - so can I!

Hold on Tru! Not the Barbie Jeep! Lin-Ley drives with no hands!

If Lin-Ley can drive it - so can I!

Well, I think it is clear why Lin-Ley bought the Little Mermaid costume (red wig included) “for her leopard”.

Dallas is back in Kuwait safely. The countdown is on for his return!

5 Years of Lin-Ley Loving!

Although we loved her long before we ever met her face-to-face on March 2, 2003, today marks the fifth anniversary of Lin-Ley’s adoption.
Following are the first three photos we ever saw of our Spicy Hunan Girl:

We traveled to China with a group of 14 families. When we finally arrived to the city where we were to meet Lin-Ley and the other babies it was around 10PM and we had been traveling for over 24 hours. We were originally told that we would meet the girls the following morning. But... the girls were all at the hotel lobby waiting for us. We had to check into our hotel room and wait for our luggage to be delivered before we could go to the banquet room where we would meet our babies. It was pure torture!

Finally our bags were delivered and we bolted from our room. There she was! Her nanny handed her to us and we stared at her and she stared back at us. There were no tears - just an instant sense of relief, comfort, and family.

Our first few minutes together in our hotel room.

A few days later. A happy family of three.

Below is a photo of our travel group with Frank (far right) and Marilyn (fifth from the right in a yellow top) who were our guides. The folks you see in this photo are now the dearest and closest of friends even though we only see each other once a year or less. It is amazing just how much your life can change while traveling half way around the world.

This is one of my favorite photos from our first days back at home in the U.S.

Although our trip to China was hard at times we now only remember the fondest of times.

(And of course we can not forget the whole SARS saga...)

We love, love, love this baby girl!

Can You Guess Where We Went Friday Night?

I will give you one guess… Yes, the emergency room! It was not a true emergency but… here is the story:

All of the medicines that Tru had been taking had stopped him up so to speak. We gave him some medicine to reverse that problem. As a result, the leg of his cast, became significantly soiled (to put it nicely). I called the orthopedic doctor on call at the hospital where Tru’s surgery took place. He told me to definitely bring Tru in and they would see us in the pediatric E.R. We arrived at the hospital at 8:20PM. The whole family went along because we knew it would not take long to replace the cast. Well that shows you how much we know!

When we arrived, it took about an hour for Tru to be seen. Then it took another hour before the ortho doctor showed up. They decided to remove part of the cast in hopes that they could remove the soiled areas and not remove/replace the whole cast. No such luck – the whole cast had to be removed. Tru needed to be very still while the new cast was being put on so he would need to be sedated. He had just finished dinner at 6PM so we had to wait until at least 12AM for the sedation. Midnight rolled around and there were no doctors in sight. I inquired about the hold up and the resident on call for the E.R. decided that we needed to wait 8 hours from the last time Tru ate. Have mercy! 2AM rolled around and still nothing was happening. At 2:30 they finally decided to get started. Get started with more paperwork!! We went into the procedure room around 3:30AM. The sedation medicine worked quickly and the cast was replaced. I had asked the ortho doctor to please make this cast lower on his waist so that Tru could sit up more easily. He did exactly as I asked and I was so pleased for Tru. Once the cast was done the ortho doctors left the room. I then realized that they had casted Tru’s leg straight down. The original cast had Tru’s leg at an angle, which allowed him to sit up. Now his leg was straight down and he would only be able to lie down for the next two weeks. No way! I told the nurse I needed to see the ortho doctor again. She reluctantly went to get him and the ortho resident returned. I told him the problem and that I wanted the cast replaced. He looked at me, raised his eyebrows, and left the room. He returned a few minutes later, looked at Tru’s cast again, and said, “I think we should just leave it as it is.” I said, “No, it has to be replaced now!” He looked at me, looked down and left the room again. The ortho doctor finally came back in, I apologized and explained the problem and he started gathering the supplies for a third cast. He did not seem to be upset with me but I had to make sure Tru was as comfortable as he can be for the next two weeks.

During the time between the removal of the original cast and the recasting Tru’s leg was free. After only one week since surgery, the wound looks great and almost completely healed! We asked if it were possible to leave the cast off but they had already called Tru’s surgeon and she wanted the cast replaced simply to allow him to be active and protect the leg. Tru stared at his leg a good deal but it did not seem to bother him. Lin-Ley was a little surprised when she looked at it. She asked us if his foot had become invisible. And she demanded to know when he would be getting his new leg.

By the way, we left the hospital at 6:20AM Saturday morning. So much for the quick cast!

Let this be a lesson to us all: Do not mix laxatives and body casts!!