Hello, Michelle. Welcome to the board. I'm glad that you found us, but sorry that you had to be here. It is sad that you are one of the many moms here who begged for a c-section and your wishes weren't respected. I would like to caution you about your appt. that you plan to make with your OB. Just be careful in what you say in case you decide at some point to pursue litigation. If you're just asking questions, then that s/b fine and it'd be good to bring a notebook and m/b someone else to tend to the baby (if the baby is with you) so that you can focus on hearing what the dr. says. Maybe a lawsuit is the furthest thing from your mind b/c you just want to focus on helping Makai, and that's fine, but someday you might change your mind, so it's good to keep good notes now and just to be careful of what you say. BTW, you should also request from the OB's office a copy of your prenatal and L&D records; then also, request the L&D records from the hospital directly (your records and your baby's records including the fetal monitoring strip). That information might tell you quite a story (either accurate or possibly quite the opposite).
I'm surprised that EI denied you already and esp. w/o even going to your house to do an evaluation. Nicole gave you a good suggestion of having the Pediatrician write a letter of medical necessity. Have you seen any specialists, such as a Ped. Neurologist? If not, then it'd be good to and if you have, then maybe that dr. will write a letter recommending EI therapy for you too.
Someone else posted this site, here's a direct link to your state:
http://www.nichcy.org/stateshe/ny.htm . Print out the list b/c you'll refer to various names / numbers on there through the years. I notice on the list: "Programs for Children with Special Health Care Needs" -- call them and see if they can offer you any services. Also, every state has a "Parent Training and Information Center (PTI)" listed on their resource sheet -- call yours and see how they can help. I'm sure that you'll find other helpful listings too.
In our state, we have a program where we get medical assistance and it pays for things like therapy copays. I know that NY state offers something too b/c there's a mom from NY who posts here and receives similar benefits as us. Her login ID is "Tanya in NY" and her e-mail addy on her profile here is:
Nursemidwife86@cs.com (hopefully that's still accurate). Please e-mail her and I'm sure she can be of more help in getting medical assistance as the programs vary in every state. She posts here often and prob. just missed your note about copays and living in NY.
I hope this helps. Enjoy your sweet baby boy. I like the name you chose for him. Take care. E-mail me if you'd like. BTW, if you thought your post was long, then you must think I've written a short novel. LOL!
~Tina,
bpmom@comcast.net, Mom to Nicole (6 y.o. w/LOBPI) & Joshua (1 y.o. w/NOBPI)