Sunday, July 13, 2008

A Seat For Lizzie

Lizzie’s condition and developmental delays have created some unique needs for specialized adaptive equipment. One of her issues is that she is unable to sit up yet. We have therapists that work with her, and they are very optimistic that she will be able to at some point. (Of course the half body cast has slowed her progress down, but it is just for a few more weeks.) Lizzie has outgrown most of her baby gear designed to support an infant. This includes her baby bathtub. We put in an official request with Medicaid for a bath chair for the tub that will help support her. We were initially denied. Medicaid won’t pay for one until a child is a minimum 30 pounds in weight. Lizzie is just under 20. But praise God, we appealed it, sent them some more info, and got approval!!! We are expecting it to be shipped to our house any day now. I will post pictures of Lizzie in her bath chair as soon as it arrives, and she is out of her cast.

But, there is more. Because of her reflux, we have to keep her upright for a while after each feeding. So, we have been using her bouncy seat to accomplish this, and to allow her to play with her toys in a more upright position. Well, as you can imagine, putting a 12 month old in an infant seat is somewhat precarious. Her legs hang off the end of it, which is a potentially dangerous situation. I can’t help but wonder if this is how her leg was somehow broken. Also, there are challenges with transporting Lizzie’ from room to room in a bouncy seat without wheels. We sent in a request for a seating system called an x:panda. This will provide a safe place for Lizzie to sit while offering proper positioning to help her develop the muscles needed to sit upright unassisted. It is on a wheeled base so that we can more easily move her from room to room. It raises and lowers for floor and table time, and it comes with an optional tray table. The really nice thing about this seat is that the chair portion can one day be removed and placed into a wheelchair frame. This would just be ideal for Lizzie.

However, we have received two denials from Medicaid so far. This seating system with the particular bells and whistles we need for Lizzie costs over $1200. But, we are not giving up. We are trying to send as much info as we can to prove her medical need, and we are praying like crazy. We know that the Lord will provide just the right thing at just the right time.

Please join us in praying for this seat for Lizzie.

3 comments:

Mary said...

Could we get the geniuses at The Container Store to make her a cool chair? Wouldn't that be great! Sorry it's another hurdle for you guys...Praying for you!

Carley said...

we will be praying that this all works out and that a chair will be provided. i know that's one more hurdle but know we are all here to support you!!

Dana said...

Are you not just so glad that our Jehovah Jireh knows exactly what Lizzie needs & when she needs it. We keep you in our prayers as always.