Guest guest Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 > > Hello! I'm new to this group. My son will be getting a DOCband as > > soon as we hear from our insurance as to whether they will cover > the > > band. We are getting one regardless. I am so excited about getting > > this band. We recently switched pediatricians for several reasons > > and I love our new one. Our old pediatrician kept telling me that > my > > son's head would round out, but every time I would wash his hair, > it > > has always bothered me. He is 9 months old now and we will finally > > get this going. I can't wait. One concern I have is the travel > > involved getting to Dallas. We are in west Texas and will have to > > fly to Dallas every time. The expense will be great, but I will do > > anything for my son. If anyone has any advise for me as far as > > traveling with an infant or know of any great airfares, let me > know!! > > Hillary > > I don't fly to dallas by plane, but by vehicle. You will love the CT > in Dallas, they are all wonderful. Maybe we will run into one > another there. Welcome to the group! > > Dustie, mom to , DOCband 12/23/02 Dustie Thanks for the warm welcome. A good friend of mine introduced me to this group. Her son is a DOCband grad. His head looks great. I am finding great info and support here. Thanks Hillary, mom to Grant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Hi Hillary & welcome to our group! What type of insurance do you have? I hope they don't give you any hassles & pay for the band. Has the claim already been submitted for pre-authorization? It sounds like you made a wise move by switching pediatricians. Have you heard of " Angel Flight " ? This is a service several DOCband parents have used when they had a long distance to the nearest CT clinic. They fly parents at no cost for medical purposes, I've heard DOCband babies is one of their favorites. I've copied & Pasted this info about Angel Flight from Cranial Tech's webpage: >>Limited Geographic Availability We realize the DOC Band is not available everywhere. The intense training involved in all levels of this treatment requires a controlled level of expansion. Cranial Technologies is dedicated to making the DOC Band more widely available, and appreciates the families who travel for the quality of care we provide. If you are not located near one of our clinics, Air Care Alliance is an organization whose volunteer pilots transport patients for medical care. To learn more, visit their website: www.aircareall.org<< I strongly suggest you look into this, it could save you big bucks! Good luck wtih everything, please keep us posted Debbie Abby's mom DOCGrad MI > > > Hello! I'm new to this group. My son will be getting a DOCband as > > soon as we hear from our insurance as to whether they will cover > the > > band. We are getting one regardless. I am so excited about getting > > this band. We recently switched pediatricians for several reasons > > and I love our new one. Our old pediatrician kept telling me that > my > > son's head would round out, but every time I would wash his hair, > it > > has always bothered me. He is 9 months old now and we will finally > > get this going. I can't wait. One concern I have is the travel > > involved getting to Dallas. We are in west Texas and will have to > > fly to Dallas every time. The expense will be great, but I will do > > anything for my son. If anyone has any advise for me as far as > > traveling with an infant or know of any great airfares, let me > know!! > > Hillary > > I don't fly to dallas by plane, but by vehicle. You will love the CT > in Dallas, they are all wonderful. Maybe we will run into one > another there. Welcome to the group! > > Dustie, mom to , DOCband 12/23/02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Debbie, Thank you for the info. I have heard about " Angel Flight " , but did not know how to get in touch with them. Thank you for the web site. This is all new to me as of Monday, this week we visited our new pediatrician. There is more to this story. Our insurance is Group Resources. When Grant was 2 months old, he was diagnosed with torticollis. We went thru treatment with our physical therapist. He responded great, but it was too late to prevent plagiocephaly. We were upset, but started some research. We have a facility that provides the STARband care in our town. After some consideration between CT and going with the STARband in our town, we did not see how we would make the trip (6 hours driving) as often as we would need to go to CT in Dallas. So we got the STARband. It was terrible. The orthotists here specialize only in prosthetic limbs and they, I do not feel, were qualified to treat heads. The STARband was way too big, it folded his ears over because the ear openings were not in the right place, it was so big that when he turned his head, it was like horse blinders. He turned into the band. So the problem with our insurance is they say that because the first one did not work, this would be considered experimental, and they do not cover experimental procedures. My pediatricians office has sent all of our info to CT to Debbie or Kathy and they are negotiating with my insurance now, so we'll see. I'm just waiting to hear from them. I'm crossing my fingers. Hillary, mom to Grant > > > Hello! I'm new to this group. My son will be getting a DOCband as > > > soon as we hear from our insurance as to whether they will cover > > the > > > band. We are getting one regardless. I am so excited about getting > > > this band. We recently switched pediatricians for several reasons > > > and I love our new one. Our old pediatrician kept telling me that > > my > > > son's head would round out, but every time I would wash his hair, > > it > > > has always bothered me. He is 9 months old now and we will finally > > > get this going. I can't wait. One concern I have is the travel > > > involved getting to Dallas. We are in west Texas and will have to > > > fly to Dallas every time. The expense will be great, but I will do > > > anything for my son. If anyone has any advise for me as far as > > > traveling with an infant or know of any great airfares, let me > > know!! > > > Hillary > > > > I don't fly to dallas by plane, but by vehicle. You will love the CT > > in Dallas, they are all wonderful. Maybe we will run into one > > another there. Welcome to the group! > > > > Dustie, mom to , DOCband 12/23/02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Hillary- If your insurance denies the DOC because it already paid for a failed STARband, you should require that the orthotist or Orthomerica at least reimburse you the cost of the STARband (if not pay for the DOC in full). That is such a crock! It is so irritating to me that any orthotist is able to work with this product. It is just irresponsible and needs to change. They may have a reputable product, but when you put it in the wrong hands it is useless and I think should be considered as malpractice. How long did Grant have the STARband? At least his head didn't get worse! That's a plus! Dane's mom DOC Grad > So we got the STARband. It was > terrible. The orthotists here specialize only in prosthetic limbs > and they, I do not feel, were qualified to treat heads. The > STARband was way too big, it folded his ears over because the ear > openings were not in the right place, it was so big that when he > turned his head, it was like horse blinders. He turned into the > band. So the problem with our insurance is they say that because > the first one did not work, this would be considered experimental, > and they do not cover experimental procedures. My pediatricians > office has sent all of our info to CT to Debbie or Kathy and they > are negotiating with my insurance now, so we'll see. I'm just > waiting to hear from them. I'm crossing my fingers. > Hillary, mom to Grant > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Hillary, I'm so sorry to hear all you went through. :-( I don't understand why someone who works with prosthetic limbs would be authorized to treat plagio. It's just not right! Someone needs to be held accountable for this. Precious time is being wasted!!! I'll keep everything crossed for you. Please keep us updated. I hope your insurance company pays for the DOCband for you. Good luck, > > > > Hello! I'm new to this group. My son will be getting a > DOCband as > > > > soon as we hear from our insurance as to whether they will > cover > > > the > > > > band. We are getting one regardless. I am so excited about > getting > > > > this band. We recently switched pediatricians for several > reasons > > > > and I love our new one. Our old pediatrician kept telling me > that > > > my > > > > son's head would round out, but every time I would wash his > hair, > > > it > > > > has always bothered me. He is 9 months old now and we will > finally > > > > get this going. I can't wait. One concern I have is the > travel > > > > involved getting to Dallas. We are in west Texas and will > have to > > > > fly to Dallas every time. The expense will be great, but I > will do > > > > anything for my son. If anyone has any advise for me as far > as > > > > traveling with an infant or know of any great airfares, let me > > > know!! > > > > Hillary > > > > > > I don't fly to dallas by plane, but by vehicle. You will love > the CT > > > in Dallas, they are all wonderful. Maybe we will run into one > > > another there. Welcome to the group! > > > > > > Dustie, mom to , DOCband 12/23/02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Hi Hillary: Geez, I'm so sorry to hear of your STARband problems as well. My daughter Abby & I have a similar STARband story to yours & Grant's. How long did Grant wear his STARband? My daughter wore hers from 8-11 mos with no improvement, actually did more harm than good to her head by denting in the good side of her head, a result of incorrect pressures being applied. Abby's ear holes were also mis cut badly, her band was very assymetrical and was too tight (esp at end of treatment). Like yours, her orthotist was not qualified to treat heads. Very frustrating and upsetting knowing you've wasted such precious growing time that can never be restored BUT, on the upside, Abby had very good results in her DOCband. We switched her to that at 11.5 mos of age, she wore one band for 4.5 mos with about 50-60% correction of what was severe plagio, yay! We also chose the STARband becuz it was just 10 mins away from our home, vs the 4 hr one way drive for the DOCband clinic nearest to us. BUT, obviously the drive was well worth it in the end for a rounder head as I'm sure it will be for you & little Grant as well. Also, for your insurance, the DOCband is NOT experimental. There's an article about it in our " files " section, " help folder " " insurance help " , posted by Tim Littlefield of Cranial Tech with the facts. Anything that is FDA approved is not experimental/investigational. Again, I am so sorry to hear of another failed STARband. I really understand just how you feel, but keep your chin up! The DOCband will and does work Keep us posted please. Debbie Abby's mom 3/1/00 STARband 11/7/00-1/26/01 DOCgrad 2/16/01-6/22/01 MI > > > > Hello! I'm new to this group. My son will be getting a > DOCband as > > > > soon as we hear from our insurance as to whether they will > cover > > > the > > > > band. We are getting one regardless. I am so excited about > getting > > > > this band. We recently switched pediatricians for several > reasons > > > > and I love our new one. Our old pediatrician kept telling me > that > > > my > > > > son's head would round out, but every time I would wash his > hair, > > > it > > > > has always bothered me. He is 9 months old now and we will > finally > > > > get this going. I can't wait. One concern I have is the > travel > > > > involved getting to Dallas. We are in west Texas and will > have to > > > > fly to Dallas every time. The expense will be great, but I > will do > > > > anything for my son. If anyone has any advise for me as far > as > > > > traveling with an infant or know of any great airfares, let me > > > know!! > > > > Hillary > > > > > > I don't fly to dallas by plane, but by vehicle. You will love > the CT > > > in Dallas, they are all wonderful. Maybe we will run into one > > > another there. Welcome to the group! > > > > > > Dustie, mom to , DOCband 12/23/02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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