One Doctor Down, Two to Go

We took Max to the first of several doctors to discuss the changes we have been seeing in him as of late. This appointment was with the pediatric ophthalmologist. Because connective tissue disorders are often associated with rather severe ocular changes such as detached retinas and lens problems we were concerned about Max’s inability to “track” objects with both eyes. During the battery of tests with a less than pleasant tech Michele and I noticed that Max was having great difficulty reading the letters on the chart, so much so that I whispered to Michele that we might be receiving a prescription for a Seeing Eye dog. Obviously I was kidding but neither of us was kidding when we said simultaneously that if the doctor told us that Max needed any type of procedure or even glasses our trip to Baltimore would be confirmed then and there. The exam quickly progressed to the “color blind test”, he seemed to be failing that one too. I admit the whole thing seemed odd because Max has never shown any difficulty with his eyes of any type.

As soon as the “friendly” tech left the room I frantically picked up the first magazine I could grab and handed it to Max pointing to an article with the tiniest of print. Max began to read, “During the first months of life beast feeding your baby…” followed by “Mom, I see an “r” in this word so I know it’s not beast feeding but I’m not sure I know this word.” I had handed my son an article on breastfeeding! As quickly as I had given him the magazine I took it away, satisfied that he could read small print but waiting for the inevitable discussion of breasts and their use as a source of nutrition.

When the doctor came into the room he asked about Max’s current cardiac status and whether or not we were any closer to a definitive diagnosis on the connective tissue front. It always amazes me when doctors remember Max and his story but I guess it would be difficult to not remember Max, based both on his extremely unique personality and medical issues! He immediately told us that Max’s sight seems fine, there were no changes from last year’s exam. I thought, “Did this guy really see the results of the tech’s tests?” When we asked specifically about Max’s inability to focus on objects with both eyes he told us it was more of a neurological problem and not a problem with his eyes per se. Great, I now see another specialist appointment in our near future…..All in all I guess the news could have been worse, I say this tongue in cheek because we never know what the next doctor will say.

This part of my post is meant to entertain Ann. I received a call last night from a gentleman at APIPA (Max’s original State Medicaid insurance which covered all of his remaining medical costs not covered by our private insurance) regarding my recent issues with CRS (check out a few posts back about my follies with them) and their non-payment of Max’s medical claims. He gave me several pieces of very interesting information, evidently because Max has private insurance he DID NOT have to be enrolled in CRS, this is in fact what I always knew to be the case and had argued with CRS ad nauseam from the very beginning. I asked him if I should opt out of CRS and go back to just using APIPA, his response although diplomatic was quite telling, he suggested that it would be a good idea to do so in order to avoid all the issues we have experienced with CRS to date. This means we can go back to using our non-CRS doctors, Max’s claims being paid hence avoiding calls from collection agencies just to name a few…..Oh what fun I have on a daily basis…..