Monday, November 8, 2010

Cerebral Palsy and a DUI


A week or so ago we were at Tyler physiatrist ( aka a Rehab doc.) appointment for a follow up. The follow up was for his phenol shots that he had during the summer to help with his cerebral palsy. During this visit it was suggested that Tyler is a perfect candidate for a baclofen trial and a possible balofen pump. As we were discussing details about the visit they inquired about our insurance and our coverage for Tyler.

( This is not a debate on insurance in ANY way. It was just what happened and I have a whole other post about what happened and why and insurance and all that jazz.)

When it was discovered that Tyler is not covered by anyone other than our private insurance for coverage they said they would not do the baclofen trial and he would not be given the pump. The reason for this is because it would cost to much for us out of pocket and they can't do that to the parents of these kids because the long term care is to costly.

Baclofen is a muscle relaxer. Without it he has continual muscle spasms. He continually burns calories and it hurts. It HURTS! It is like having a charlie horse 24 hours a days. As he grows the spasms will get worse. It will hurt more. It will cause him to lose the ability to walk if we aren't able to give him the medication and at some point he will not be able to function "normally." * Oh and the baclofen is on the 4 dollar script list at Walmart. It is a cheap, easy way to help*

This morning, a local news station showed a small trailer for a man that was arrested for a DUI. Though that isn't uncommon, the man was riding his bike AND he has cerebral palsy. Because of his medication to control his cerebral palsy he was arrested. He was arrested because the medication to make him NORMAL ( oh how I hate the term that was used but gee.. another blog!!) is what caused him to be arrested.

Tonight on Channel 2 news at ten they are going to show the Dash cam for the arrest involved. What makes this even more ironic, this particular officer has the MOST DUI tickets in the state.

The part that makes me frustrated, the only way for this person to be able to use his muscles is by taking the medication and by USING the muscles. Those muscles aren't going to work if he doesn't use them and if he doesn't have medication to help him.

Is it discrimination? How do I help my child grow up as someone that is looked at as beneficial unit of society?


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So if he drives his motorized bike out in traffic and kills someone or himself it is ok because the meds are prescribed to him?

nancy said...

He was not hurting anyone. Nor was he endangering anyone. If he told her he would not pass the sobriety test because he has cerebral palsy she should have offered him a ride home, not chosen to arrest him. I am sure he would be honest and willing to want to take responsiblity for his actions if he was to harm someone, but those with the disability tend to know their limits.

Do you any people with Cerebral Palsy that DON't know their limits?

Nicky said...

That man said he couldn't walk in a straight line. He had one leg shorter then the other. His one side is stronger then the other. He told the officer straight out he is on medication. She didn't want to listen anymore, she gave him the field sobriety test and in her mind, he was a DUI. I think that since she had over 800 DUI arrests, it's just another DUI arrest for her. Not taking anything else into consideration. TOTALLY CROSSES THE LINE! I would not want my nephew to grow up like that.

Unknown said...

DUI is a money making machine "DUIs account for about one-third of all criminal court cases.

denver bail bonds

Grandma Labrum said...

It wasn't the kind of "motorized bike" that some people think. It was a bicycle that had a small motor to keep it going at a slow pace so his leg muscles didn't need to do all the work. No one was in danger of his bicycle. If you saw the clip on the news you would know what kind of a bike it was.

Tami and Bobby Sisemore Family said...

I am shocked that poor man was arrested :( NOT GOOD.

I am not sure if this will help you are not but do you know there is a secondary medicaid you can purchase as a secondary insurance for our child on private insurance? The finanacial requirements are different (we would not qualify for medicaid normally but with a severely disabled child this other program we buy into and it is a huge help. The payment each month is reasonable and les sthan we would be paying for copay's for all his therapy alone. Just something to look into, perhaps if you had that you could get him the pump. We go back to neuro tomorow to try and get him to help Jeremiah. The orthapedic thinks he needs a higher dose of balcofen or a pump or something. Not sure he is old enough for the pump.

anyway,
just sharing
Blessings,
Tami
PRAYING 4 A MIRACLE 4 Jeremiah
www.tillGodbringshthemhome.blogspot.com

nancy said...

Yes we are aware that you can purchase or spendown on a medicaid plan. But you have to qualify and so far we haven't qualified. We are still waiting on our application but the amount we can actually spend down would start around 300 a month. That is not feesible for us right now.

Looking for Blue Sky said...

From an Irish perspective, I am completely confused by the DUI. Are you not allowed to take any medication at all and drive in Utah? Surely it should only matter if the medication has a dangerous effect on you?

Re Baclofen, Smiley took that for a while, it wasn't particularly effective, but nor was it very expensive, I just paid for it and I'm out of work. Is it very dear in the US?