First Haircut

The first haircut!

Health Insurance Rant

Allow me to vent some frustration about health insurance. My very healthy son just got turned down for insurance. He has a very mild case of Intestinal Neuronal Dysplasia. For this the insurance underwriter has said he will never be insured –not only for the IND but for any medical care ever.

I could understand this if he had a severe case of cerebral palsy and his care would certainly cost many thousands a year. But this is a healthy toddler who hasn't had a single symptom or treatment for over a year. We stopped treatments when he was 2 months old. When he did need treatments they were only tap water enemas that cost essentially nothing. His physician says that he will likely live his entire life without a another problem. I am a doctor as well. I reviewed every study published on IND and I am certain my son has the mildest form of the condition.

An underwriter probably saw “Intestinal Neuronal Dysplasia” on the application. It is too rare to have good statistical predictions of its risks. He probably googled it and saw it is genetic and can cause problems in severe cases and denied my son flat out. Ignorance caused them to reject a very healthy child that will likely cost not a penny more than any other child. I offered to speak to the underwriter and explain his situation, but the phone operator told me underwriters don't talk consumers.

My son won't be able to purchase insurance his whole life for a diagnosis that hasn't given him trouble since he was two months old. I can never have a private practice, because I will always have to work for an employer that offers group coverage the rest of my career. If my young, healthy family with no active medical problems cannot get insurance, families with sick individuals shouldn't even try.

I care a lot about healthcare. I have worked hard for years to ensure the care I give is affordable for patients. I have given high-quality low-cost care to hundreds of people insured by this very insurance company. For them to reject my healthy son out of what appears to be ignorance feels like a slap in the face. No wonder so many Americans are eager to bring down the insurance industry!

TMD and Bob Dylan

It's scary how every day my son looks a bit more like a mid-1960's Bob Dylan:

Baby Boy is One!

Today our baby boy TMD turned one. We are so thankful that he is healthy and growing up so well. He is a little bundle of energy and always walking around the house. We recorded this video before putting him to bed:



I'll try to post some video and pictures from the party as well as him toddling soon.

Motherhood

Baby Boy and I made a video for J on Mother's Day:

First Steps!

10 Months Old!

Jonathan showing off his kid.

8 Month Brithday

The tricky thing about trying to shoot a birthday video on an 8 month old is that he is either crawling out of the frame or pushing buttons to stop the video. We still love our little drooling bundle of energy. He says "Hi" to all his relatives and friends!

New Years 2009

On New Years we took TMD to visit his Great Grandma Davis. She is his last great grandparent since Pop Brit passed. Although she is 90 years older than he, TMD really enjoyed visiting his grandmother, and she loved having him visit.

Here are some more photos of our family over the holidays:

Birthdays!

Today TMD turned 7 months, and his dad turned 31 years. We both grew up so fast!

5 Months!

Our little man, TMD turned 5 months old today. We are loving this kid and are thankful for his health. Here are some recent photos:



Things go well here in Ecuador. I started working at a free clinic yesterday. It is good to finally get to medical care. I wish I could say we are progressing quickly in Spanish but those verb conjugations have our tongues tied, but things are going well. We are staying with a wonderful family and loving being here and learning about Ecuador and the Andes.

Talk to you later.

Baby Boy's International Travels

Greetings from Ecuador. Little TMD just wanted to say "Hola" and let you know what fun he is having here in Cuenca.



He also wants to show you his new friend, Romina.

Full

Sorry for the recent absence of posts (both here and on the Gridbook Blog). Life has been incredibly full recently. Baby boy had his 4 month birthday this weekend, and he celebrated by going to visit his grandfathers 62nd birthday.

I suppose the biggest news from me is that I am now exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up: I am the primary care doctor of a small town. It is truly a wonderful job but it is also exhausting. I love what I do, but it keeps me away from home a lot, while my amazing son is growing so rapidly and my wife has her hands full with his exuberance. (I mostly miss the people I worked with in the ER, but my wife misses the schedule.) My friends also complain that they don't see much of me anymore, therefore as you might expect my blog frequency will drop.

But a full life isn't a bad thing, and I will try to keep you updated on things. Once we figure out a way to balance everything.

Healthy and Growing

Thanks to all of you who prayed for TMD. As you see he is very healthy.

Update on Baby Boy's Health

Sorry it has been a while since we updated everyone on TMD's bowel condition. Actually we still don't know exactly what happened with his colon. It may be Intestinal Neuronal Dysplasia although we aren't sure, BUT the good news is that he doing so well that we have stopped treatments all together.

No need to keep working up a bowel abnormality in a baby who is growing well and seems so happy. Right now he is in the 90th Percentile on weight and length so for now we are just going to watch and wait. We always have a really good pediatric surgeon who knows him well, so if problems do come up we will be ready. Hopefully the whole thing was an anomaly that resolved on its own. We will let you know if more happens but hopefully the good news will be no news at all and we won't have to worry about TMD's bowels agian.

Another Video of Baby Boy

That silly dad showing off his kid again.

One year ago today...

One year ago today J. and I walked the streets of Ortona, Italy the town on the other side of the world where my grandfather Eduardo Pantaloni grew up. Then we hadn't even yet conceived of the little boy (Eduardo's great-grandson) who I hold in my lap as I write now. It makes me want to visit that place again.

I think of Eduardo (who changed his name to Edward Patton when he immigrated) growing up in Ortona and my little TMD growing here in my lap. Eduardo died on Christmas day when I was only a little boy. One of my strongest memories of him is only a few days before he died telling me about the beautiful farms in the seaside village were he grew up.

He has been dead for decades now, and no one in his home town remembers his name. He is even a distant memory to me. It makes me realize that even though I am 30 now I will also someday be gone and forgotten even in the places that were once my home. This makes me glad that I am a father. TMD may not know it now but his great-grandparents who will only exist to him as black and white photos have left themselves in J. and me. Similarly I will leave myself in him.

Update on the Biopsy

News on TMD's biopsy from last Thursday:

The biopsy showed nerve cells which means it is not Hirschsprung's Disease. At least at this point surgeon and pathologist are saying that it may be Intestinal Neuronal Dysplasia, which is similar to Hirschsprung's. This is an even more rare condition than Hirschsprung's so I didn't know much about it. The good news is that at least for now TMD won't need surgery. The bad news is that unlike Hirschprungs this can be treated but not cured. Apparently the seriousness of Intestinal Neuronal Dysplasia runs the spectrum from severe to mild.

We are going back to Augusta next week to see his doctors and discuss this so hopefully we will have more information then. The good news is the our little man continues to grow beautifully and seems happy and well (asside from the occassional fussiness that is common to all babies). He is 7 weeks old today and we are loving the little personality he is developing. Hopefully we'll have more pictures up soon.

Back from Biopsy

We just got back home from the biopsy. It went well. Baby is doing fine.

Hirschsprung's Disease

An update on our baby boy:

He continues to grow well and seems quite happy. He has recently been diagnosed with Hirschsprung's Disease, which is a genetic birth defect of the nerves of his colon/rectum that was making his belly bloat and causing him increasing discomfort. It is fairly rare (1 in 5000 babies) and it has some risks of serious infection, but the good news is that is can be cured with surgery. Although the X-Rays almost certainly show Hirschsprung's, we will go to MCG Children's Hospital in Augusta tomorrow for a biopsy required to confirm the diagnosis. Then hopefully he will have the surgery in the next month or so.

While we have a healthy level of concern, we are very optimistic. We were very impressed with the kind and competent surgeon who will be caring for him. We are doing washings of his colon several times a day and already he appears to be feeling much better. It is a joy to watch this boy grow and I am already impressed with his little personality. We are certain that everything that happens is in God's gracious will for our son. We will be busy over the next month with many trips to Augusta. I may not be able to be in touch with everyone personally so I aim to use this blog as a way of keeping everyone updated on TMD's care. Keep him in your prayers and stay in touch.