Well the little chipmunk has survived the wisdom teeth surgery as did her parents. Although - barely! Just kidding. She did great. Round the clock ice and pain pills for about 48 hours but she's feeling better and more like a human again as of yesterday - 2 days out. Still resembles a chipmunk somewhat though and can't eat anything that isn't mushy yet, but she's getting there. Lots of salt water rinsing, etc going on. All is well and we're on our to passing this mini milestone of life now for her.
Stephen hit a milestone of his own on Tuesday night in the midst of the wisdom teeth recovery. He received his first injection of growth hormone! YAY!! He did VERY well and remarked "That's it?" after the first injection. Whew!! It's a tiny little needle like insulin needles and is given in the fat and not in the muscles. We have to rotate the injection each day to one of 8 different spots on his body. Some he can reach and will eventually be able to do himself, the others are probably more difficult for him to do and will need one of us to help with.
Just a refresher but we've been moving down this path for the last couple of years as his growth has slowed and slowed and slowed, becoming almost non existent. Just for the record, he is 13 years old, 4 foot 8 inches and 79 pounds currently. He's been about that same height/weight for the last maybe 3 years, growing no more than about 3.3 cm/year at this point. Blood work was done and his IGF-1 factor is 120 and a boy in puberty should be around 600. Other tests were involved like bone age scans and growth hormone stimulation testing, all of which shows he's very delayed. The reason... probably a combination of the side effects from the medication he takes plus just a general low production of growth hormone which could be genetic.
We are now trying to get the insurance company to pay for the treatment which, at his current dosage, will cost somewhere in the $50,000 range per year. Likely, that number will be more like $75K or $100K as the dosages are increased for him. Yes... it's a ridiculously expensive medication. If insurance ultimately denies all the appeals, we will have to make some pretty significant life changes to ensure he gets the treatment he needs as this is something effecting his entire life at this point AND we have a short window while he is still in puberty.
Prayers would be especially helpful for all of us... Stephen... the rest of us..... and prayers for the insurance company to do the right thing.
Everyone have a great day! We're off yet to another doctor this morning - Dr. O'Neill - for Rachel's shoulders. One of them is still giving her some problems.
MA
1 comment:
What a milestone for you and your family! It brings us joy to know that a family of ours survived and succeeded a certain thing that he/ she had been through. And like you, my twins who recently went to their dentist in Hendersonville, TN succeeded their wisdom tooth operation. Before, they were really afraid of the dentists, but when they went to Hendersonville dentist office, all their fears faded away because the environment is comfortable, and the staff are very friendly, too.
Post a Comment