PLEASE HELP DOVI GET HIS MCLAREN STROLLER!.....

Dear Readers of the blog,

I feel bad to do this - but I have to pull out the DONATE button again.
I am desperately in the need of a new stroller for Dovi. The Special Tomato stroller outlived its usefulness - it's too bulky to transport and the five-point harness was too flimsy to keep Dovi safe. He would climb out in the blink of an eye and lead his caregivers on a wild goose chase to catch him. Then the hood broke; we had to dispose of the stroller.
So far we are using an old donated Mclaren Techno, but at 47" and 52 pounds he does not really fit into it anymore. And sometimes he puts his feet down on the ground to stop his caregivr from pushing him...
Even with his backpack harness I am sometimes scared to be on the street with him without additional restraint. When we wait for the bus in the morning he starts dragging me to the corner impatiently and I can barely get him to walk back to the front of our house. I'm always scared that he'll try to run onto the street. We really need a stroller.
So last June I began the process of getting the Mclaren Major Elite stroller funded through Medicaid (it costs over $500)... and thus began the next saga of Never A Dull Moment in our lives....





I called the same company who acquired the Pedicraft bed for me. Unfortunately, that sales rep no longer works there. I got a new rep, and he was very efficient and nice at first. Right before Dovi went to camp, someone came down to assess Dovi and discuss what we want and what would fit him best. We settld on the Mclaren Major Elite.




Dovi went to camp, and I had a baby, and we waited and waited. On August 9, a week before Dovi came home from camp I called to find out what was doing with the stroller? Oh, said the rep, we never got a Letter of Medical Necessity and it's holding up the whole thing.

I was shocked and upset - why had no one notified me for SEVEN WHOLE WEEKS? So at 2 weeks postpartum I was busy calling my doctor's office back and forth for two days to obtain the letter of medical necessity. It was faxed. They ddint receive it. I called back the next day. They didnt have the letter anymore. They printed it again. Faxed it to me. I faxed it to them. Still didn't get it. Finally, they got it.

And we sat back and waited.

One month. Two months. I kept calling the office only to be told. "We have to wait for a letter from Medicaid to let us know their decision." So I continue to wait, while Dovi kept growing, and his caregivers struggled to push the Maclaren Techno. Or opted to walk with him - he loves walking - but that means he literally drags his caregivers back home when he decides he doesn't want to go to the park.

On October 1 I decided I'd just about had it and i called the company again and spoke to the sales rep in charge of the whole thing. You won't believe his response:

"We never got a letter of medical necessity from your doctor."

I wasn't sure if this was a nightmare or a hallucination!... I had been busy on August  9 and 10 over and over with this letter. And I had confirmation that they had received it! But we were back to Square One...

So there I went on October 1 begging my son's pediatrician to type the letter again (they no longer had it saved in the computer from August). I faxed it. They didnt get it. Faxed it again. Finally got it.

Now, a month later, the stroller request was denied by medicaid, for reasons I dont yet know.

The sales rep told me to call him on monday and he will explain, and I should try to make my case for medicaid.

But I can no longer wait. Dovi hsn't had a serviceable stroller since May, and I can't keep waiting and hoping and going through the wringer again.

So the Donate button is back out. It's not an outrageous amount that I need - we're not talking thousands of dollars here, but in the ballpark of $500 - and I hope that if everyone reading this will donate just $5 or so dollars, I can collect at least half or more of the amount I need and then just order such a stroller so that I can feel calmer and safer when transporting Dovi outdoors.

If you know of a place where I can get this stroller for cheaper, even secondhand, please do let me know.

Thank you readers! I hope to post some more interesting content in the future. Believe me, there is so much to say, so much to write. I'm grateful for everything I have, and I would love to share some of the incredible stories. The time will come...

DONATE! even if it's just $5! I will truly appreciate it, and so will Dovi!...