Smith Park with Eliza's BFF Hallie

Smith Park in Philadelphia is a grand place for a preschooler. Eliza and Hallie had a great day running with their flour sacks to the Giant Slide.

To see some video of the Giant Slide in action click here.

Eliza enjoyed spinning endlessly (great practice for the Tea Cup ride at Disney) and they both enjoyed the Teeter-Totter and the ride one toys:

AND TOMORROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL!!!

Now I Know Why Oxford UnitedHealth Group and Medco Have Once Again Failed to Pay Eliza's Claims

... They are simply too busy doling out their hard earned money (a/k/a my premiums) on lobbying against healthcare reform:

Yes, yes I too am sick of repeating my mantra, but once again: no one who has lived a life of good health with their biggest uncovered medical bill being a botox injection or a pack of birth control pills should ever be permitted to run a healthcare company or hold a government position that effects healthcare.

What has brought on my latest rant: In August Oxford UnitedHealth sent us a monthly invoice that was about $9,000 more than the company's regular bill. The number bore no relation to anything: it wasn't twice as much, one and a half times as much, not an extra person or two. Odd. So I call Oxford and after TWO HOURS they decide that they had no rational reason for this "adjustment" to our bill. So I paid what they told me to (our normal premium) and documented this with multiple letters and emails.

Fast forward to this Friday morning. I get a call from CVS.com advising that although Eliza's doctor's office had finally sent in the information for preauthorization of her formula, that our policy had been cancelled as of August 31, 2009 for non-payment of premium. Hmmm. We paid the premium, check was cashed and all. Apparently some nitwit at Oxford UnitedHealth Group had simply seen that I had paid less than what his computer showed and without batting an eye cancelled our group policy. Sweet. So after another TWO HOURS on the phone with Oxford UnitedHealth Group, they decided that yes, in fact our policy had been timely and fully paid and they conceded that it is ILLEGAL in New York to cancel a policy for non-payment of premium without notice. So they nicely reinstated our health coverage back to August 31.

While I am sure they were waiting for me to whimper with joy at their benevolence, they mentioned that it would however take up to 96 hours for Medco to get around to reinstating coverage. Not what I wanted to hear since I had a pending pharmacy order of about $700. No real reason was offered as to this delay in our pharmacy benefit being reinstated, other than "these things take time." They suggested that if Eliza really needed the pending order, that I pay out of pocket, submit a claim and they would reimburse me in 3 to 6 months.

And there are people out there who don't think we need healthcare reform?

For Parents on NICU Trauma May Last

This recent article in the New York Times is right on the money. I don't think the results of the study come as any surprise to those of us who spent more than our fair share of time in the NICU.

One interesting part of the study noted that:

Some hospitals pair parents of premature babies in intensive care with those who have been through the experience. One study found that 16 weeks after childbirth, mothers who were matched with NICU veterans had less anxiety and depression, and felt they had more social support, than mothers in a control group.

Which begs the question then, why do so many NICUs lack a parent support group? There are many NICU parents who spent weeks or months in the NICU with their children who would be more than willing to volunteer for a support group, yet there seems to be resistance by the hospitals to parent support groups.

When a baby enters the NICU, the NICU gets more than one patient. It gets the baby and the baby's parent(s). The NICU staff is well trained to care for the baby and they do that admirably. But who is there to care for and support the parent(s)? While the NICU staff can guide the parents through the medical aspects of life in the NICU and lend a shoulder to lean on, only a veteran parent can really know what the new parents are experiencing.

So why would any hospital resist having a NICU parent support group?

Endless Summer

Good grief do I hate coming back here after time on Saba. I suspect Eliza is as equally dismayed as I am.







We first visited French St. Martin for a few days with my college friend and former apartment-mate, Marilyn ... or Auntie Mal as she is known. We stayed at a really nice resort in Anse Marcel with a beach that had few waves which was perfect for Eliza. Although on our first day out she decided not to venture near the water Our cabana and the foot bath from the outdoor shower seemed fine by Eliza.











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Day two we took the Eddie Richter approach and took her somewhat unwillingly into the ocean. Ten minutes into and she did not want to leave the water. Can't say I blame her since it was spectacular.









Eliza also enjoyed bagels at breakfast and aside from collecting every one of the sugar packets was remarkably content to sit at the restaurant with us while we ate.







Mal had yet another harrowing plane ride to Saba (she is 0 for 2 on landings) and the pilot finally got the plane down on the second try heading the opposite way down the oh-too-short-runway.



Mal and I took Eliza to the EcoLodge in the rain forest for lunch. We had Heinekins, Eliza had Ting. We walked down about 1000 feet or so on the hand-hewn steps and Eliza hiked it like a champ (although perhaps with a little too much enthusiasm which led to a small tumble from which she quickly pronounced "I'm OK!").











Eliza got to swim in the Cove Bay with her cousins Kaitlyn and Tyler, courtesy of Auntie Joleen.







Always a big hit are Nana Wilda's cats Princess and Smutty.







We got to visit with some good family























And of course, we visited Daddy's grave in our burying ground.

How Ironic

So on the heels of far, far, far too much unnecessary family and work drama, I was so very much looking forward to a relaxing vacation on French St. Martin and then Saba with the biggest concern being whether to grill grouper or lobster. But no ...



Yes! Tropical Storm Ana is joining me on vacation!

And when Ana leaves we have Tropical Storm Bill:

Old? Infirmed?

I think not.







The next time my almost 87 year old mother tells you she is "falling apart" or "can barely get out of the chair" she is full of crap. Crap. The woman repeatedly ran up and down her hallway with 28 pounds of screaming Eliza on her back. My mother can kick your butt.

Long Time No Blog

I have just looked at the calendar and realized it has been almost two weeks since my last post! No really good excuse here. Well, there are excuses that I think are good, but a few people would likely disagree with me.

The past few weeks have been busy, trying to get things ready for vacation and then for Eliza to start preschool. I think I am in denial that Eliza is going to start preschool in a few weeks. Although I did go ahead and get very cute labels for everything Eliza owns, it still seems preschool is light years away. I am also pretty sure Eliza has no clue that her life is about to change in a big way.

One of the difficult things about having your child enrolled in Early Intervention services is that all of these people who come into your child's life, who she sees multiple times a week, will simply disappear. No real good byes, no going away party, just the last therapy session. While the therapists probably fill the time slot with a new child before the last session is even over, Eliza will be left wondering where everyone went. For a child like Eliza, who was not really able to socialize with other children because of the fear of illness, these therapists are her friends, they are the people with whom she plays. And they will just be gone on August 13. I am hoping that since we are going on vacation right after Eliza's last day of therapy and then start school within a week of coming home, that the transition won't be too difficult for Eliza.

Apologies to the facebook friends who have already seen these photos, but here are some of the photos I recently has taken of Eliza.