Holding On

Brody has been doing okay so far since we got home. I've been having a little bit of a hard time getting that antibiotic in him. He hates it. We have to do it for 6 months so he better get used to it. Kaybri has been good. Full of energy. I have this new Linkin Park CD and she loves to dance to it and sing along. She's so fun. Other than that, not much to report. Things have been stressful, as usual. It will be interesting to see who has the total meltdown first--me or Joss. Things have been especially hard the past 6 months. Christmas is going to put added stress on us but we are trying to remain strong. I have a lot of faith in us. Things will look up!

Homeward Bound

Around noon, I had spoken to Joss and told him we would not be coming home today. On that note, he decided it was a good idea to work a little longer today. 5 minutes later I found out that Medicaid had granted our request for oral antibiotics rather than the dreaded IV. We won the battle! This means we are going home! But wait, Joss just turned his phone off for the next several hours and he is my ride home (since my "death-mobile" is being towed again). I eventually got through to him and he is currently on his speedy little way up here. I just pray that we may be able to stay home for a while this time...but my gut tells me otherwise.

Well Deserved Relaxation

Saturday, Joss and Kaybri spent the majority of the day with Greg and Sky. They went hiking in the mountains around Salina looking for a Christmas tree. Kaybri loved it and couldn't wait to tell me about it. She later went for a ride on the "Hosies!" They rounded out the night with the whole family watching movies and having pizza. Sunday, Kaybri went to church--which she loves. She gets so excited to tell you about "Cheesus" and "Present Hinky" and "The Tempo". I am so glad that she is not missing out on that experience.(A special thanks to Greg, Lori, Trista, Sky and Tandi for helping make that possible) Sunday, Joss spent the day with his buddy, Kevin. They went for a ride in the hills, had lunch in Richfield, then watched some movies they had rented. Joss has been so stressed out and high strung. I'm glad he was able to relax a little and that both he and Kaybri had such a great weekend.

The Uninsured

The plan was to attempt to discharge today but the discharge planner said that she just can't pull it together that quickly. Perhaps tomorrow. After all, she has to try to reason with the insurance company to cover that antibiotic orally. But the complicated part is that they are not our insurance company. In fact, we are uninsured. We are trying to get Medicaid through Social Security Disability but it has been a very long and extremely frustrating process. Leaving us hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to Primary Children's alone. (Ask me how good our credit looks right now--we're sinking quicker than the Titanic) We are awaiting a Medical Review Board Hearing to sort of hurry the process but have not yet received word of when that hearing will take place. We were told in August that it would take 6 weeks. It has been 3 months. Brody is also on a waiting list for Medicaid under a Travis Waiver which is free Medicaid for anybody who is technologically dependant (a trach/vent child for example). I was informed today that Brody is at the very top of the waiting list but they do not foresee and open slot until March. So we'll just keep hoping and praying for an insurance miracle and try to "stay afloat" until then.

Improvements

Brody is happy today. They were able to turn his vent settings back down and things appear to be going well. The doctors are looking into an antibiotic that can be taken orally for the next 6 months so we can avoid the IV all together. But insurance doesn't cover it. So the Attending called the insurance and told them they have to cover it or else they will make them pay for Brody to stay here in the ICU for the next 6 months of antibiotics. I hope its just scare tactics.