Therapy

I spoke too soon. Caden's kinda sick. Ok, he's sick. He's got this cough (that he gave to me) and if he feels like what I have felt like, I understand why he's been crabby. Poor guy... can't he get a rest?!?! I thought that with the warmer weather, he would start having longer periods of "health."

I have mentioned before that we have an awesome therapist, Sarah, who come to the house to see Caden. Well, she comes every other week, and she always has new things to try and teach us. I really do feel fortunate to have her coming to the house, and I was thinking this morning that if she wouldn't have come, I don't know how far Caden would have gotten by now.

When she first started coming, (May 14th, 2007) our goals for Caden were to hold his head up, eat by mouth, and roll over. He couldn't do ANY of that. Now look at him! It hasn't even been a year. I think that(in terms of developement) we should consider that a starting point instead of his actual birthday. Everyone always says how "behind" he is and all that, but if you remember that he essentially started all this less than a year ago, that would mean that he's quite advanced, huh?

Before I started my new job, I was always the one there when Sarah came. Now Paul's there. We talked a lot before about if she really needed to continue coming. I think Paul "gets" it now. That she is benefitting him a lot.

Anyway, she was saying yesterday when she came out, that Caden needs to be more independent. I guess I never thought about it, but we baby him. She said that we need to be working on not getting him everything he needs, and letting him go get his drink when he needs one, or letting him go get his binky if he needs it. I guess I just did it without thinking. He points to stuff that he wants, if that gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.

She mentioned that he will be two before we know it and he needs to be more independent. I got a glimpse into what an outsider would see. I'm terrified to think that Caden's a "baby" or a "sissy" I guess you would say. Not that I don't want him to be a momma's boy or anything. :)

I always thought that I would be the stern parent and teach the kids responsibility at an early age and all. Now I feel like I'm not. I don't want to be a hard-ass or anything, but I don't want to be a push over either. He does know that he can make us do whatever he wants... hold him constantly, push him in the wagon for hours (seriously) hand him the toys that he wants, let him play with my remote even though he has his own (which he does, that Paul got from work for him). I don't know.

Then it's like, he doesn't feel good, so I don't want to neglect him if he wants me to hold him all day. I know how nice it was when I was little and didn't feel good when my mom laid with me. I just don't know where to draw the line.

Any suggestions would be wonderful!

Party

So, we decided to change the day of the party. My dad and step mom are coming into town and they are leaving that Sunday morning, so we thought it would be nice to include them. We changed the date to that Saturday, May 3rd. I'm excited about it. I feel like people think I'm wierd though, for having a party like that. Like they're thinking "you're actually going to have a party? I thought you were just joking." I don't know. Screw 'em.

May 3rd
1:00
Our house
Lunch provided
No gifts necessary

Ashlea

It's been a year!!!

I think that today is a great day. Things were starting to turn around! Caden came off of ECMO a year ago. It's almost like his birthday in a weird way. It's as if he was reborn that day. He's been in a great mood the last few weeks, and he hasn't been sick at all! Yay Caden! He's such a good boy. I'm going to try and figure out how to get a video off of my phone and onto here. Don't get too excited... I may not figure it out.


If you don't see a video within a couple of hours, you should post a comment with some technical support. :)

Laughing...

I have done this like 10 times in the past couple of weeks. Put something in an email, or a blog, and forgotten to tell you what I'm talking about! LOL... At least I can laugh at myself, right? The foundation that I was raving about is

www.patientaccessnetwork.org

Why didn't you guys tell me that I forgot to tell you that part?!?!? I guess I was trying to keep it all to myself. Haha. Na na na na boo boo. :)

A wonderful foundation!

Well, I'll start by saying that we met our deductible for last year. By a lot. :)

Most if not all of you know about RSV, and how dangerous it can be to little ones, especially ones with medical miracles. Synagis is the shot that the kiddos get once per month to help ward off the virus. Caden started getting it in November... I think. We didn't get any bills for it, so I never thought about it.

Well, for the first one in 2008, they called me. They informed me that since the new year began, we would have to pay for the shots out of pocket until we met our out of pocket maximum. No big deal right? Well... he informed me that there are two separate shots, and that for every month, the price for both of the shots was $2,369.33. Of course, all we had to pay was 20%, which ends up being $473.87... That's right. Every thirty days.

Holy cow! First we had to meet our deductible ($300) and then we would have to pay the amount in full(the 20%)before they would send the next month's shots. What a scam. As my mother-in-law put it "Either way, they've got you by the balls." And yes, she was right. If anything happened to him as a result of not getting the shots, then how horrible would I feel for the rest of my life??? Ugh.

Anyway, we have obviously paid for them, and as a result, we have met our out of pocket maximum for this year now, too.

As I was researching synagis a few weeks ago, I found a foundation that helps pay for the coinsurance for many diffrent medications and such. I submitted our information, and we received our approval letter the other day. They are going to cover our expenses that our insurance does not, up to the full $1,500 that we have paid. Awesome!!!

I thought that with all of the people that use Blogger, some would find this useful. Pass it on, and if you know someone who is looking for a foundation to make a donation to, this is another great opportunity. Even if you don't need it, you should check out all of the different things they cover. Different conditions such as: Anemia, Cystic Fibrosis, MS, and Rheumatoid Arthritis, and everything in between. It's awesome, and I can't help but share it with you!

If you apply for assistance, good luck!

Ashlea

My Party!!!

I (Ashlea) am in the process of planning Caden's coming home party. He came home from the hospital on May 7th. Almsot a year now, unbelieveable! This year, that lands on a Wednesday. Not such a great day for a party. We are planning on doing it the Sunday before, which would be the 4th (not sure what time yet). We are going to eat cake, and I'm thinking about making heart-shaped cookies. Anyone that knows my "skill" in the baking department will probably steer clear of the cookies. :) Maybe I'll just get a tube of dough. You can't screw up Pillsbury... right???

If you think of any cute games to play or anything else, please let me know. He's going to be 17 months by that time, so he probably doesn't care what we do. It's not neccessary to bring gifts, we are just going to celebrate his health.

Thanks guys!

Ashlea

P.S. I can/will send a formal invitation to anyone that wants one.