Friday, February 20, 2009

Nursing Hours & Fun Day

We just received the final decision from the State Medicaid Department of Nursing, who were reviewing Elias’ case. Elias doctor’s and many other professionals related to his medical care were advocating to increase the number of hours he has skilled care monitoring him at home. They were requesting an increase of 2 hours from 10 to 12 per night. They felt as though this could be the slight edge we need to help keep him from having further hospitalizations by having trained skilled nurses that would be able to identify potential problems before they become severe enough for hospitalization. This is the third request they have made and unfortunately the result was the same. We were denied, but we were not told to leave without a parting gift…of sorts. We will get 14 days of 12 hour care, then return to the 10 hour per night after that. The nursing agency called us with the news and they were very disappointed as was our REM case manager when I called to tell her the news. While we are disappointed we are not surprised, but we at least got some consideration out of the process.

As for Elias he had a fun day. We had a doctor appointment this morning which yielded a few vaccine shots for the little guy. He was not happy about that, let me tell you! He let us know it too! Before the trip we took a few minutes to take some photos in a new outfit (see update below). He was having a good time sitting up (with mommy’s help of course, but we are working on that) laughing and doing the fishy face. When we got home Elias was out for a nap, with a little help from Tylenol to help the sore legs from the shots. After a brief nap, which could have been much longer, he was up again playing and laughing. We still have the secretion issue, that is not going away anytime soon, but we are seeing ever so slight improvement. We are just happy that Elias is able to enjoy the things he loves to do and wants to do. His only limitation right now is endurance, but we can handle that. We will just have more short playtimes instead of our usual long ones. He is still developing everyday, showing us something new and improved. We are glad everyone enjoyed the video from the other day. Someone asked us if we edited the video making Elias move back and forth like he was so fast….not at all. That was all him. He is a mover and a groover. We know that once this rascal learns to crawl and walk the gate on the door to the nursery will have a new meaning, keep the kid inside rather that keep the dog outside! I am thinking the gingerbread man will be a fitting Halloween costume for him when it comes around this year. "

“Run Run as fast as you can you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man!”

What do you think…can you see it???

2 comments:

  1. Well, at least the shots are over for a while. It's lovely to read how happy he is at home; I can hear it in your voice too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey!

    In VA, they have a Medicade Technology Waiver program! Check with your state to see if they have something along those lines! He has grown so much! Such a doll baby!

    Blessings and Bear Hugs,

    ReplyDelete

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