Monday, April 17, 2006

Good News - Bad News

After having such a great week two weeks ago, things have kind of gone downhill. Sarah Kate has not done as well walking over the past week, and even reverted to using her duck cane a few times. Her appetite increased a good bit toward the end of the week and she seems to be sleeping more, so we are hopeful that this setback is temporary and related to a growth spurt. A simplified explanation of why this would be problematic is that when children have growth spurts, the bones grow quicker than the muscles, and the muscles grow and stretch to catch up. Children with cerebral palsy have muscles that are already tight, and they aren't able to keep up. Before Sarah Kate's surgery, it was always visibly obvious when she was growing; her right leg was tighter than her left, and the right foot would begin to turn out. As the muscles "caught up," the foot would come back to normal.

We got what we thought was great news about our insurance several days ago, but it has turned out to only be modestly good news. BCBS authorized 30 additional therapy visits for Sarah Kate, but they placed a cap on the total amount of only $3000. We are very disappointed in their response, which is far short of what will be necessary. Sarah Kate starts the intensive therapy program on Monday (the 24th), and we had hoped to be able to know going in that at least this portion of her therapy would be covered. BCBS has moved incredibly slow throughout this process (it took over a month for them to authorize this small amount), so we know that at this point we're just going to have to take that leap of faith and pray that God will provide a way.

Please continue to pray for us.

I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. - Psalm 16:8

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