Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Shriners calls with bad news: Luke has Syringomelia and Chiari Brain Malformation

The MRI was to be a precautionary test to rule out any rare causes of Scoliosis. Far from it, it "ruled in" two more serious disorders. We were told that Luke had a syrinx in his spinal chord and that we needed to see a pediatric neurosurgeon. He also had a significant Chiari Malformation. Janet Cerrone, Physician Asst from Shriner's, phoned in an order for an MRI of the brain and explained to us what it was that we were dealing with.

Within 2 hours I knew I wanted to visit the Chiari Institute in NY. This was a world class facility for treating Chiari malformations, Syringomelia, and other brain disorders. Unfortunately, the insurance coverage for the institute was considered "out-of-network" meaning a special condition in the Blue Cross (Federal) insurance agreement. It just so happened 5 months ago, I switched my coverage for handling out-of-network expenses (75% coverage) to coverage of 0% for slightly cheaper insurance. Who would've thought?! I can switch back to that plan however I would have to wait 5 months until November to do it...and that was not an option for Luke. Things have suddenly become urgent.

No comments: