Splashin' in my new pool!!

Thank you Nana for my new pool!





Carsten spent about 2 hours out there yesterday just splashing away. I think it will be a good way to pass the time while Chad is away on Army travels:( Unfortunately this job, while it is a great job, will have lots of travel and I'm getting my first taste of that this week. Chad will be gone today through Thursday. Anyway, we will be busy this week working on switching over insurance and getting referrals for therapy, and if nothing else, we've always got the new pool to play in.

All I want is for my child to eat!

Well, it is official, Tricare has denied authorization to KKI under a "medical admission" They will authorize it under a "behavioral admission" but not "medical." It is ridiculous, stupid, petty, and just a battle of words while here I sit with a child that cannot eat and has to get his nutrition through a tube! I plan on appealing this if just for the sake of other parent's down the road. Call it rooted in what you may, medical or behavioral, a feeding disorder is a feeding disorder, who cares how they got that way!

So, I am appealing the denial, going to switch over to Trisouth on Monday and begin to pursue therapies here in Atlanta as well as investigate other feeding programs that have a "behavioral" model as that seems to be the only kind Tricare will pay for. Mainly I am so disappointed because I have spent the last year and a half working on making this happen, we flew out to Baltimore for an evaluation, and I have spent countless hours on the phone with these people and it has now come down to a matter of words, speechless!

Carsten's eating has been pretty steady. He is still eating gerber cheese puffs and his purees. He drinks maybe 4-8 ounces of water a day now which is GREAT but he doesn't seem to want to drink milk or juice and that's the only way he's going to get off the tube. I tried to feed him peas yesterday that weren't completely pureed, kind of chunky, and it was a disaster. So, hopefully we can find a good feeding therapist here and get started even if it's only once or twice a week. He did make a lot of progress last year from his feeding therapy. I belive he will get off this tube, I just need to continue to be patient and put my "hope" in the Lord and not doctors or feeding programs or even in Carsten's eating itself.

So that's the conclusion of my week, I really hope the weekend starts getting better. Maybe we'll go to the pool when he wakes up just to do something fun and get our minds off of it:) Carsten is really starting to point at things!! Today at the grocery store he was pointing at something in the check out line to tell me he wanted it, this is HUGE!!!! I've been waiting SOOOO long for him just to tell me he wants, likes, dislikes ANYTHING and he's starting to do it! He's such a sweet little boy I love him so much.

Have a great weekend,
Momma Bridges

KKI

I got some bad news two days ago. We found out that Tricare has denied authorization to the KKI feeding program in Baltimore. I'm pretty bummed about it. They were supposed to have a director to director talk today to try and work things out so I'm waiting on a call but I have a feeling it's not going to happen. Part of me wants to fight it, but the other part of me feels like maybe we aren't supposed to go there during this season for some reason or there is a different program for him. So I'm going to pray and just give the outcome to God. I know Carsten doesn't have to go to a feeding program to eat but it sure would be nice to have some help. Monday I will sign us up for Tricare here so we can get started with therapies and doctors and all that so maybe we can get some feeding therapy here again even if it's just once a week. So I'm sad, but I'm looking forward to us being here this summer with Chad and enjoying Atlanta.

We might go to our first Braves game this weekend so I'll be sure to take some pictures. I think Chad had a memorable 35th birthday on Tuesday (Happy Birthday my old man:), I made him a surprise dinner and we celebrated family style, just the three of us since we really don't have any friends here yet:) I can't wait to find a church and get plugged in somewhere.

That's about it in the Bridges household. We miss everyone in Leavenworth, there sure is nothing like living on a military post and having all your friends right there. Maybe we can do it again someday.

Going from house to home

We just about have our house turned into a home. We had our first trip to the neighborhood pool this morning, I'm afraid Carsten will now "expect" a daily trip to the pool:) He did get a little boo boo though in the kiddie pool, yep, mom let him fall forward and hit the side so unfortunately he'll be a little scratched up for his first day at church. Aunt Nae left us yesterday and is safely back in NWA. Thank you Aunt Nae for all your help!!! We couldn't have done it without you! And especially thank you for that early morning diaper change:) Here is Aunt Nae and Carsten in his new sofa Cars chair, before and after picture, do you think he likes it?!

Back to our roots

The Bridges Bunch has arrived in Atlanta. I've already had a trip to Chick-fil-A, some sweet tea, and met some great southern people at Wal-mart, ahhhh, it's great to be back to our roots!:) Other than that, we are settling in, had all of our household goods delivered yesterday, now just unpacking and trying to figure out what's wrong with our AC, yes, I said AC problems in Hotlanta!!! Please keep Carsten in your prayers that a spot will open up at KKI in Baltimore in the next couple of weeks (they said late June or early July). We are going to try and hang onto our insurance from Kansas which means we won't have access to any healthcare here until we go. It's a risk we want to take, we can still go to the ER if need be. Please pray that he stays well and we get to go soon!! I will post some pics of our house when it doesn't look so much like a jungle. Carsten has been a major trooper the whole trip, hasn't cried once except yesterday when it was 89 degrees in our house!

I should be back to my normal blogging in a few days. We miss everyone from Leavenworth but are so excited about what God has for us here. We already met our neighbors yesterday who happen to be military as well.

Back to work,
Momma Bridges

Packing Day!

The packers are here and packing away! Our case manager just called and said the authorization for KKI is coming through probably today or tomorrow. This is going to be tight but she said if we don't get him into the program by the end of this week we probably won't get to go. Once we get to Atlanta our insurance changes and we start ALL over. Please pray for Carsten this week that miraculously a bed opens up and everything falls into place. I'm praying we're on a plane by Friday. If not, it will be okay, just a little disappointing. I am excited about moving to Atlanta and I've got my bags packed either way so it will definitely be an adventure.

Resting in Him,
Kari

Time to get movin'

Here I sit in my dining room drinking coffee and yes, PROCRASTINATING!!! I know there is stuff to be done before we move, but I think part of me is in denial and the other part just doesn't know where to start. So what did I do yesterday, went to the pool of course! I wanted to spend some time with my good friend Amy who has been such a blessing this year and a friend that was an answer to prayer. Now we have to part but I think we'll see each other again, hopefully in DC one day. She has a little girl Brooke who has been Carsten's "girlfriend" this year, except when Carsten would pull on her or swat at her, she didn't like that part of the relationship much:)

However, I'm ready to say my goodbyes and get this over with. I get so attached to people, I don't know how I'm going to do this every three years. I guess it's like the end of a quote I remember my grandmother gave me, you keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness you blow the rest away. Amy is a friend definitely worth keeping:) And with that quote, I think I've decided to introduce the Quote of the Week! Most quotes will be related to children with Special Needs of course. I think the following quote is appropriate for today since I'm struggling with deciding if and where to take Carsten to daycare. I found it this morning quoted by a mother, no name mentioned...

"There should have never been integration, because no kids should have ever been excluded."

I like this one:) Today we're off to our last OT feeding session in Kansas City, the first of goodbyes and many more to come. I guess each goodbye means there's a hello just around the corner. I made that one up:)

Please continue to pray for Carsten and KKI in Baltimore. We are waiting for the surgeon general to approve the authorization to go and then we need a bed to open up fast. I still believe the Lord can do this before we move. Once we get to Atlanta, it's looking less and less likely we will still be able to go to Baltimore because of insurance. We will start all over with the Marcus Institute in Atlanta if we have too. It's all in His hands.

Have a great Tuesday!

Love,
Momma Bridges