Neuropsych and King
Weird title, I know, but you'll see once you read on.
As part of the cochlear implant process, James needed to have a neuropsych evaluation. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. But the audiologist told me that the nice folks from that office would be in touch with me to schedule. Well, more than a month later, still no call. Emailed Dr. Kate and she said she contacted them again and they assured her they would contact me soon. I asked if she had a number, I would just call myself. She said, no, they have to call you. Two or three weeks after that, I got fed up with waiting and decided to call them anyway, whether they liked it or not. I talked to three different receptionists before finally getting the one who could set up the appointment. This was on Monday, the 24th. She told me that the earliest appointment available was September 19th!!!! But if there was a cancellation, she would call me. Well, needless to say, I was less than pleased. Besides the fact that it was almost 3 months away, we really wanted to get him in before our insurance ran out (Jason got a new job that he starts next week, and benefits don't kick in for 90 days, and we still had not been approved for medicaid.). I didn't want to risk them calling sometime in the next three months and having to pay for the eval ourselves. I'm sure it's not cheap! Anyway, I prayed that God's will would be done in this whole situation and tried not to obsess about it. Well, I guess God thought it was too long too, because on Wednesday morning we got a call saying there was a cancellation for Thursday, and did I want it? Um...yes!!! So Thursday morning Toothless and I headed to Children's, yet again, for this very important piece of the process. First the doctor asked me a hundred questions about what James can and can't do, what he's like at home, etc. Then she sat down with him and tested him for probably an hour! He had to find objects in a scene, match pictures and shapes, find objects that went with each other, and I don't even know what else. But he did, and I quote, "amazing!" Both the doctor doing the testing, and a new doctor who was observing, were so impressed with him and his nonverbal abilities. And again, that was so reassuring to me! Like I said before, many times I'm not sure the boy has a brain in his head! But he definitely does, and she feels he is an excellent implant candidate. So now that everyone is on board, I'm really hoping that when we go to our follow-up appointment with the ENT on the 10th that he will let us get a surgery date put on the calendar. James still has to have another hearing test sometime at the end of July, but we all know it's going to say the same thing as all the others. He hears nothing, even with the hearing aids. So I don't see any reason not to schedule, optimistically sometime in August. But we'll see what Dr. Chi says. And as far as the insurance concern, yesterday I got a call from a recording that turned out to be from Medicaid, saying that our enrollment packet is coming in the mail. At first I had no idea what it was, since it was a recording, and never actually said the word medicaid or medical assistance. Just Pennsylvania something-or-other. But when it said we needed to choose a PCP and health plan, I got very excited! It gave a website, so I checked it out and it was definitely medicaid. So praise God, James will not go uninsured! Which is a really good thing, first for the implant, and because he is now complaining about another tooth hurting!!! This time a bottom molar, one that is mostly filling. Thinking it will probably need to come out too, but after the last fiasco at the oral surgeon, I am not too excited about that prospect. And since it's mostly filling, I don't know if he'll even be able to just pull it, or if it will require surgical removal like the other one. The filling is still intact, at least, so that's good. But it looks like we will be making another trip to our bow-tied oral surgeon. Hip hip hooray.
Ok, if you're still reading, you're probably wondering what the "King" is all about in the title. So I shall satisfy your curiosity now! "King" by R.J. Larson is my most current free read from Bethany House. It is the third and final book in a series, the first two being "Prophet" and "Judge." Part action, part romance, part spiritual, The Books of the Infinite, as they are called, are a parallel to Old Testament times, with the Infinite being the One True God, and a host of pagan nations and false gods making trouble for the faithful followers of the Infinite. These books are beautifully written, the characters well-rounded with depth and growth, and the plot is well layered without becoming bogged down. The way the main characters interact with the Infinite make me want that kind of relationship with God. Their devotion and obedience (and sometimes disobedience and subsequent forgiveness) is realistic and inspiring. I highly recommend all three of these books, and I look forward to more from this author.
As part of the cochlear implant process, James needed to have a neuropsych evaluation. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. But the audiologist told me that the nice folks from that office would be in touch with me to schedule. Well, more than a month later, still no call. Emailed Dr. Kate and she said she contacted them again and they assured her they would contact me soon. I asked if she had a number, I would just call myself. She said, no, they have to call you. Two or three weeks after that, I got fed up with waiting and decided to call them anyway, whether they liked it or not. I talked to three different receptionists before finally getting the one who could set up the appointment. This was on Monday, the 24th. She told me that the earliest appointment available was September 19th!!!! But if there was a cancellation, she would call me. Well, needless to say, I was less than pleased. Besides the fact that it was almost 3 months away, we really wanted to get him in before our insurance ran out (Jason got a new job that he starts next week, and benefits don't kick in for 90 days, and we still had not been approved for medicaid.). I didn't want to risk them calling sometime in the next three months and having to pay for the eval ourselves. I'm sure it's not cheap! Anyway, I prayed that God's will would be done in this whole situation and tried not to obsess about it. Well, I guess God thought it was too long too, because on Wednesday morning we got a call saying there was a cancellation for Thursday, and did I want it? Um...yes!!! So Thursday morning Toothless and I headed to Children's, yet again, for this very important piece of the process. First the doctor asked me a hundred questions about what James can and can't do, what he's like at home, etc. Then she sat down with him and tested him for probably an hour! He had to find objects in a scene, match pictures and shapes, find objects that went with each other, and I don't even know what else. But he did, and I quote, "amazing!" Both the doctor doing the testing, and a new doctor who was observing, were so impressed with him and his nonverbal abilities. And again, that was so reassuring to me! Like I said before, many times I'm not sure the boy has a brain in his head! But he definitely does, and she feels he is an excellent implant candidate. So now that everyone is on board, I'm really hoping that when we go to our follow-up appointment with the ENT on the 10th that he will let us get a surgery date put on the calendar. James still has to have another hearing test sometime at the end of July, but we all know it's going to say the same thing as all the others. He hears nothing, even with the hearing aids. So I don't see any reason not to schedule, optimistically sometime in August. But we'll see what Dr. Chi says. And as far as the insurance concern, yesterday I got a call from a recording that turned out to be from Medicaid, saying that our enrollment packet is coming in the mail. At first I had no idea what it was, since it was a recording, and never actually said the word medicaid or medical assistance. Just Pennsylvania something-or-other. But when it said we needed to choose a PCP and health plan, I got very excited! It gave a website, so I checked it out and it was definitely medicaid. So praise God, James will not go uninsured! Which is a really good thing, first for the implant, and because he is now complaining about another tooth hurting!!! This time a bottom molar, one that is mostly filling. Thinking it will probably need to come out too, but after the last fiasco at the oral surgeon, I am not too excited about that prospect. And since it's mostly filling, I don't know if he'll even be able to just pull it, or if it will require surgical removal like the other one. The filling is still intact, at least, so that's good. But it looks like we will be making another trip to our bow-tied oral surgeon. Hip hip hooray.
Ok, if you're still reading, you're probably wondering what the "King" is all about in the title. So I shall satisfy your curiosity now! "King" by R.J. Larson is my most current free read from Bethany House. It is the third and final book in a series, the first two being "Prophet" and "Judge." Part action, part romance, part spiritual, The Books of the Infinite, as they are called, are a parallel to Old Testament times, with the Infinite being the One True God, and a host of pagan nations and false gods making trouble for the faithful followers of the Infinite. These books are beautifully written, the characters well-rounded with depth and growth, and the plot is well layered without becoming bogged down. The way the main characters interact with the Infinite make me want that kind of relationship with God. Their devotion and obedience (and sometimes disobedience and subsequent forgiveness) is realistic and inspiring. I highly recommend all three of these books, and I look forward to more from this author.
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