Scheduling the Canalplasty. Starting in May 2010, I emailed Cheryl Medina (Dr. Roberson's Surgery Coordinator) our preferences for 2011 canalplasty. Our first choice was in April around Spring Break, second was in January around Winter Break and third was at the beginning of the summer. She said that we were #8 on the waiting list for 2011. As time got closer, and through ongoing conversations with Cheryl Medina, we finally settled on a Canalplasty date of March 7, 2011, right after Ben's brother's birthday and a little bit before Spring Break so that he would have some time to recover in time for and during Spring Break. Also, he'd have about three months to recover before surgery at the beginning of the summer. In the end, as you'll see, we didn't end up doing surgery on March 7 - but fortunately, we live in LA, and that was OK!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
CAT Scan with California Ear Institute - Dr. Roberson
California Ear Institute and Dr. Joseph Roberson. May 26, 2010. At this point, Ben was four years and seven months old. I had decided to give up on the possibility of my insurance ever covering a low dose CAT scan, so I had called Dr. Roberson's office, and they happened to have a cancellation, so I quickly planned to cancel all of my appointments and drive with Ben to San Francisco the following day. We got a 3:30PM appointment, so we could leave first thing in the morning and get there with plenty of time.
This was the first time that I had met/seen Dr. Roberson since Ben was an infant, and re-meeting Dr. Roberson - he was very nice and reassuring. He came into a room and reviewed the results with us while my husband was on speaker phone (by cell phone - Dr. Roberson's patient rooms do not have any wired phones). He indicated that Ben was rated an "8 out of 10" with 10 being the best. He said that 8-10 ratings are good candidates for canalplasty.
It nice to hear that we had the option to do canalplasty if we chose to do so. A lot of things to think about...The CAT scan was about $1,000. I explained to Dr. Roberson that I was paying out of pocket, and he very kindly gave me a discount. Yet another example of how these doctors don't do this for the money - they seem to really care about their patients. It was a really kind gesture that I appreciated greatly.
This was the first time that I had met/seen Dr. Roberson since Ben was an infant, and re-meeting Dr. Roberson - he was very nice and reassuring. He came into a room and reviewed the results with us while my husband was on speaker phone (by cell phone - Dr. Roberson's patient rooms do not have any wired phones). He indicated that Ben was rated an "8 out of 10" with 10 being the best. He said that 8-10 ratings are good candidates for canalplasty.
It nice to hear that we had the option to do canalplasty if we chose to do so. A lot of things to think about...The CAT scan was about $1,000. I explained to Dr. Roberson that I was paying out of pocket, and he very kindly gave me a discount. Yet another example of how these doctors don't do this for the money - they seem to really care about their patients. It was a really kind gesture that I appreciated greatly.
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