Geoffrey's head and impending battle with UHC...

[Guest guest]

I haven't posted in a long while... we've been repositioning Geoffrey

now for two months with some success. Both our pediatrician and the

plastic surgeon who saw him agree that we've improved the flat spot on

the back of his head and have gotten it to round out some.

But the doctor recommended we do a helmet because he wasn't seeing any

improvement on the front of Geoffrey's head where one side protrudes a

little more. I thought it was all getting better.

So we went to the othotics department at Mt. Zion hospital in San

Francisco yesterday and are now faced with the dreaded decision: To

band or not to band. It would not be a DOC or STAR band -- but it

looks very similar to both producst and works in the same manner. We

had him take measurements of Geoffrey's head without doing a casting.

Even the orthotics doctor said Geoffrey's case was borderline and it

was our decision to make...

We also face an uphill battle with United Healthcare -- although I pay

for the most expensive plan my employer offers, the doctor said the

company would probably deny it and we would be in for a battle. He's

submitting a claim for it in advance to see what the initial response

is BEFORE we have Geoffrey casted. We're supposed to hear back in a

few days -- so we have a few more days to make our final decision...

I'll be happy to join in any fight against UHC that someone wants help

on... just let me know.

My wife is hell bent on getting Geoffrey banded because she does not

want to take the risk that even borderline/mild plagio case may not go

away and could cause Geoffrey problems later.

I guess I've seen enough material to believe that most of the

borderline or mild cases actually do correct themselves over time and

that banding is just a way to possibly accelerate the normal process.

AND no one notices it when they see Geoffrey... his pictures are posted

in the files section... does anyone see it from the front? Is is that

noticable from the top?

I would love any sage advice... if he had a more moderate case I would

not hesitate for one minute. But he is borderline/mild.

Any thoughts?

(father of Geoffrey)

paulbrunell @ home.com