Plagiocephaly, Cranial Bands and Insurance

Maverick developed a condition in utero called Torticollis. Because of this, he then developed Plagiocephaly that got worse after he was born from his neck always being turned to one side. When he was 4 months old, we were told he needed to wear a "helmet", or technically, a cranial band, to help improve the assymetry of his head. We were sent to Cranial Technologies to get a Doc Band. These people have been awesome and we're so grateful for them!




Last thursday Mav got his Doc Band off after wearing it for 3 1/2 months. He had significant improvements and we were told he went from having a severe plus plus head shape to a moderate/severe headshape. It was also recommended that he get a 2nd Doc Band. We of course want the very best outcome for our little man, but here's the kicker. We were told when we got his first band that almost in every case, insurance, no matter what insurance you have, will not cover it. We were so fortunate, or so we thought, that Tricare agreed to pay for the whole band!! It wasn't until a couple weeks ago I got a call from our insurance coordinator at Cranial Technologies telling me that Tricare still has not payed them and that she found out that it was the WRONG Tricare (West instead of South) that had agreed to paying for it. We will not know for another couple of weeks if South agrees to pay for it, but most likely they will not and then we will have to work on our appeal since it wasn't our fault that we didn't know it was the wrong insurance who had agreed to pay for it in the first place! Meanwhile, I found out yesterday that Tricare South denied our request to pay for his 2nd band. Unfortunatly, that means paying $2500 out of pocket, and if they don't agree to pay for the first one, that will be $5000. Although I am so glad they have covered what they have for all of Maverick's other healthcare costs, I find it unacceptable that insurances typically refuse to cover these bands unless it's post-surgical. And even though $2500 is a lot, that is with a military discount. The regular amount for civilians is around $3800. There are many many twins out there who require these bands due to conditions that happened while in utero (just like Mav) so those poor families are left with over $7000 worth of bills just for the first bands and over $15,000 if they need 2nd bands. This is completely rediculous and unacceptable in my humble opinion. I think insurance companies need to be a little more educated on this subject! We're not wanting our kids to wear these "helmets" so they look cool and we get tons of stares from people wondering what's wrong with them! John and I were told by the neurosurgeon that prescribed Mav's first band that if he did not have this, he could and would probably end up having a life-threatening surgery later in life that Tricare would have to pay for. So...does this even make sense to not pay for it NOW?? No it does not! Anyway, just thought I would do my part in Plagiocephaly awareness and in the mean time I will pray that one day the insurance big wigs will educate themselves and be on board with this. Thank you Dr. Klugh and thank you Cranial Technologies for caring about Mav and helping him have the best outcome possible!

(I wish I could figure out how to upload his before and after pics but I can't at this time)

"Blessings"

I don't think I'll say much about this song and just let it speak for itself. The very first time I heard this was on the drive to church on a Sunday morning shortly after moving here, right after John left, and when I was just beginning the daunting task of coordinating with insurance and doctors and just desperate for answers for my baby boy. It was perfect timing. Even listening to it this morning had me in tears all over again. I hope it blesses you as well....

"Blessings" by Laura Story

I'm back....for real this time!

Well friends...I'm back! I see that it's been almost 8 months since my last post and that was just a video of Z Bug. Wow has he changed in 8 months!! Getting back to the blogging world is something I've been contemplating for quite a while. I'm such a private person and tend to keep things all to myself except for a few close friends and family members. But, I don't journal and I feel like this is such a great way to record life and be able to look back at everything. So I decided to give it another go around. I even thought about creating a whole new blog and even took the steps in doing so, but decided to stay here after all. I also decided to keep the title "Island" of love life and learning. Our little island of Okinawa is where our family pretty much began and I'd like to remember it that way. I have so many things I feel like I need to catch everyone up on but that will come in future posts. I won't try to fill in all the missing gaps at one time, so if you're reading a post and are completely lost about something, feel free to comment and ask any questions you want. Our life is crazy complicated to try to keep up with. ;)

For those of you who don't know, I am currently living in Dallas, Texas with Izaak and Maverick while John is finishing up his tour in Okinawa. We are here due to Maverick's health issues and have been apart from John for 4 months. He will finally be coming home next month!! In fact, I'm actually getting ready to go see him 4 weeks from today! I don't remember something I've ever been so excited about in my life I don't think. I left there not knowing I wasn't going to be going back to say goodbye. It's so emotional for me every time I think of Okinawa. There my home still is with all my things in it. There are the friends I left, some of which I know I'll never see again. There John and I lived the longest together. There our 2 precious boys were born. I very much consider that my home and our beginning. I will forever hold a special place in my heart for Okinawa; my Okinawa. My husband laughs at me when I remember the place with such fondness because he likes to bring up the times I cried and complained and wanted to "go home" so badly. I'm not saying that every single day there was a bed of roses. I definitely went through some cabin fever and rough times. But overall, I'm so happy that I got the amazing opportunity to live there, and I hope that one day we can be stationed there again.

Well I guess that's all for this time. I'm actually really looking forward to making frequent posts here now and I'm glad that I'll have an outlet for stories, pictures, memories, and whatever is on my heart. Thanks for following! :)