Birth trauma led to a New York state newborn’s rare seizure disorder, and paying for an incredibly expensive treatment is taking the combined efforts of an entire community. Odin Fortner-Watrous suffers from a rare seizure disorder called West Syndrome, caused by a lack of oxygen he experienced during his first moments in the world. “He spent four minutes with no oxygen and it caused severe brain trauma, and due to the brain damage the seizures developed,” said Odin’s mother, Shayna Fortner Watrous, telling the story of his birth. The only treatment option approved in the United States for Odin’s condition, called ACTH, costs $300,000 for a five day supply. Full treatment takes 14 weeks. “We pay $4,600 out of pocket, per vial,” explains Shayna. The mother of four was recently diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. Odin’s father, Arthur, says that every dollar he makes is going towards paying for…
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Birth Injury and Cerebral Palsy Attorneys
Expensive Treatment Needed for Child’s Disorder
January 24th, 2012Man With Cerebral Palsy Earns Red Belt In Karate
January 20th, 2012A man with cerebral palsy is accomplishing something few would think possible for someone in his condition: learning karate. Aaron Timmons, a 29-year-old man in the U.K., found karate by accident. Though he had been a fan of Japanese anime, most notably Dragon Ball Z, Timmons was not looking for karate lessons. He just happened to take a trip with his sister while she searched for boxing lessons. While sitting and watching her train, he heard noises coming from another class that attracted his attention. Going over to watch the karate students, he decided to ask for instruction. “Disability or not, the criteria is still the same,” said Timothy Hill, Timmons’ instructor. “He’s not coming in here being pampered and just getting a belt. When he’s on the floor, he’s just like (everyone else).” Timmons just attained his first belt rank beyond the standard white. He is immensely proud of…
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Care Organizations That Let Girl Starve Lose Medicaid Funding
January 18th, 2012The death of an extremely malnourished girl with cerebral palsy has led the Ohio Medicaid office to take action against the two agencies involved in her care. The coroner’s office, reporting on her death, said she was the worst case of child malnourishment it had ever seen. Ohio Medicaid is proposing the removal of Exclusive Home Care Services in Dayton from the Medicaid program and has decided to not extend the state contract with Cincinnati-based CareStar Inc., according to state Medicaid Director John McCarthy. “The death of Makayla Norman was a horrible tragedy, and the allegations in this case are extremely disturbing,” McCarthy said. The 14-year-old girl was dependent on others for her care. When she died, she weighed only 28 pounds and was covered with bedsores and caked in dirt, authorities said. The coroner’s office said she died of nutritional and medical neglect complicated by her chronic condition. Authorities…
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Skeleton Shows Birth Trauma Is Nothing New
January 16th, 2012The oldest evidence of birth trauma in a human skeleton has been discovered by a researcher in Canada, confirming that the dangers of childbirth are nothing new to our species. Susan Pfeiffer, from the University of Toronto in Canada, has found an example of stress injury to the pelvis in the skeleton of a 2000-year-old female found in South Africa. According to newscientist.com, humans are unique among hominids in having a birth canal that is nearly identical in size to the neonatal head. This means that it is inevitable that natural variations will cause some women to have a pelvis that is too small for childbirth. The skeleton examined by Pfeiffer had an unusually narrow pelvis, which she said appears to have led to an injury to the pubic symphysis, a joint running down the midline of the pelvis, during childbirth. “Resulting deterioration of her joints probably caused a lot…
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