Angels come in many forms. In this case they came in the form of two public servants, Rep. Nick Milroy and his wonderful assistant Mary Lou Keleher.
I have a list of blogs to write, but here we are at CeCe again. She's doing well with her recovery from hip surgery, but something else has been going on in the wings for more than a month. Let me tell you about it.
Where to begin? When you adopt a special needs child from the State of Wisconsin, they kindly allow (Thank God) you to keep that child on the state's medical insurance. Kate and Tom never have to worry about paying for Cierra's medical care. She has an amazing team of doctors in Duluth, and some specialists in the Twin Cities. Most of these Doc's have been with CeCe for years, and they all know the ins and outs of handling her unique issues. Plus, having been in pediatric intensive care for five weeks at Essentia in Duluth, all the nurses and other staff know her well. It was like old home week when they spent several days in the children's wing after CeCe's hip surgery.
Cierra is slated to have three surgeries this summer, adenoids out, tubes replaced in ears, and that hormone thingy in her arm (yes, I get very technical) needs to be replaced. These are three outpatient surgeries, but because of her lung issues "the team" felt it would be better to co-ordinate, put her out one time, and get all three done. She would then go right to the picu to recoup and if all went well then be released to home. That way, should something go wrong everyone would be ready.
Last summer, Cierra's insurance would not allow the arm thingy replacement to be done in Duluth. They insisted it had to be done in Wisconsin. Why? Because they said so. Kate and Tom dragged her down to Eau Claire (or Chippewa, I can't remember) and she had the procedure. However, the anesthesiologist, who did not know her from Adam, gave her to much sleepy meds (for CeCe) and she would not wake up after surgery. It took most of the day, and my sister was ready to hire her own helicopter and fly back to Essentia and the team of Doc's who know Cierra.
So "the team" was all set and ready to go with the triple procedure, they were just waiting for an o.k. from CeCe's pulmonologist to do it, and the insurance company said no. The adenoids and tubes could be done in Duluth, but the arm thingy had to be done in Wisconsin. Why? Because they said so. My sister tried to speak to them, and they wouldn't even talk to her. Her doctor's appealed and the insurance company couldn't have cared less.
I mentioned that maybe Tom (who likes to do this sort of thing) should write to our legislators. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, but he didn't.
A team was being assembled in Wisconsin, and finally it looked as if CeCe would be headed to Marshfield , which is in the Steven's Point area, sometime in August. I'm sure they are fine doctors, but if you know Cierra, even through my blog or facebook posts, you would understand that anyone caring for her needs to KNOW her. Doctors who don't, tend to assume things and treat her as a child who is developmentally seven. That's where the trouble starts, and has been quite serious a few times.
This whole situation has been very stressful on CeCe's folks. After the events this winter, the thought of taking her away from the team who knows her, and trust her with strangers, had to have been terrifying, and having the insurance company discount everyone, just because they could, was frustrating. After listening to my sister vent about it, again, I mentioned for a third or fourth time that her husband, who likes to write letters when things aren't kosher, should give it a try and see if someone could help. At the very least they might be able to get him in touch with someone who could assist, and the worst anyone could say was sorry, we can't help, leaving you no worse off than you already are.
Finally, Tom wrote to Rep. Nick Milroy's office, and by the end of that day he had a phone call from them, and people were working on it. In less than a week the situation was resolved.
My sister allowed me to publicly thank Mr. Milroy on facebook, which I did, and he graciously gave credit to his assistant and the other state workers who helped. You're a good man Nick, and you have my vote as long as you are running for anything, ever. To his assistant, Mary Lou, who I also then was able to thank in public, I again say thank you. Thanks also to the nameless people who also worked to fix this issue. Sometimes the things we do in our job our thankless, but we do them anyway. I'm glad this time they are able to know that they made a difference!
I have a list of blogs to write, but here we are at CeCe again. She's doing well with her recovery from hip surgery, but something else has been going on in the wings for more than a month. Let me tell you about it.
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| Hanging out at Essentia |
Cierra is slated to have three surgeries this summer, adenoids out, tubes replaced in ears, and that hormone thingy in her arm (yes, I get very technical) needs to be replaced. These are three outpatient surgeries, but because of her lung issues "the team" felt it would be better to co-ordinate, put her out one time, and get all three done. She would then go right to the picu to recoup and if all went well then be released to home. That way, should something go wrong everyone would be ready.
Last summer, Cierra's insurance would not allow the arm thingy replacement to be done in Duluth. They insisted it had to be done in Wisconsin. Why? Because they said so. Kate and Tom dragged her down to Eau Claire (or Chippewa, I can't remember) and she had the procedure. However, the anesthesiologist, who did not know her from Adam, gave her to much sleepy meds (for CeCe) and she would not wake up after surgery. It took most of the day, and my sister was ready to hire her own helicopter and fly back to Essentia and the team of Doc's who know Cierra.
So "the team" was all set and ready to go with the triple procedure, they were just waiting for an o.k. from CeCe's pulmonologist to do it, and the insurance company said no. The adenoids and tubes could be done in Duluth, but the arm thingy had to be done in Wisconsin. Why? Because they said so. My sister tried to speak to them, and they wouldn't even talk to her. Her doctor's appealed and the insurance company couldn't have cared less.
I mentioned that maybe Tom (who likes to do this sort of thing) should write to our legislators. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, but he didn't.
A team was being assembled in Wisconsin, and finally it looked as if CeCe would be headed to Marshfield , which is in the Steven's Point area, sometime in August. I'm sure they are fine doctors, but if you know Cierra, even through my blog or facebook posts, you would understand that anyone caring for her needs to KNOW her. Doctors who don't, tend to assume things and treat her as a child who is developmentally seven. That's where the trouble starts, and has been quite serious a few times.
This whole situation has been very stressful on CeCe's folks. After the events this winter, the thought of taking her away from the team who knows her, and trust her with strangers, had to have been terrifying, and having the insurance company discount everyone, just because they could, was frustrating. After listening to my sister vent about it, again, I mentioned for a third or fourth time that her husband, who likes to write letters when things aren't kosher, should give it a try and see if someone could help. At the very least they might be able to get him in touch with someone who could assist, and the worst anyone could say was sorry, we can't help, leaving you no worse off than you already are.
Finally, Tom wrote to Rep. Nick Milroy's office, and by the end of that day he had a phone call from them, and people were working on it. In less than a week the situation was resolved.
My sister allowed me to publicly thank Mr. Milroy on facebook, which I did, and he graciously gave credit to his assistant and the other state workers who helped. You're a good man Nick, and you have my vote as long as you are running for anything, ever. To his assistant, Mary Lou, who I also then was able to thank in public, I again say thank you. Thanks also to the nameless people who also worked to fix this issue. Sometimes the things we do in our job our thankless, but we do them anyway. I'm glad this time they are able to know that they made a difference!
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