An infant in need of help.....

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Update in Post #12.


My daughter's childhood friend had a baby boy five months ago. She's very young, and has very little financial support, no health insurance, and no job. She lives with her parents, but her dad MUST work, and her mom does not drive or have a car.

They don't have internet or computer.

She called and asked me to come over and see him the other day. She says he WAS opening his hands and grabbing at toys, and he's not doing that anymore. When I saw him, his hands were clenched at all times. Even if you try to open them to put a toy in his hand, he can't hold it. He keeps his hands either in his mouth, or pulled to his chest. Mommy claims he's only been clenching his fists for the last week or two.

He also keeps his legs pulled up. He doesn't kick them at all. When you change his diaper, he's just a ball of tight muscles. He looks at you, he makes eye contact, he seems very happy, everybody adores him, and he adores them, he makes all the normal baby noises, and seems to hear and see fine. It's just his body doesn't seem to move like a normal five month old.

What are her resources? Can she call the school? Should she call a hospital? He's never been to a pediatrician, they don't have one, and they don't have the money. He may never see a pediatrician.

If it makes a difference, both of her younger sisters are autistic. She and her older sister are not, and have no disabilities at all.

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Extra information. Last Thursday, she said he cried for three hours, and then threw up for a short while, and then slept. She thinks he's never been the same since then. But, she can't say for sure if that's when he changed, or if it's when she first noticed.

[askew]

It reminds me of my DD. At 6 months she went through a phase of being super crazy fussy. Crying all day if she was not on the breast, not smiling or moving around and keeping her fists bunched up and in her mouth all the time. She started having seizures a week or two later. She had Infantile Spasms and they are preceded by changes in brain wave patterns that made her lose all her milestones and be a crying mess for a few weeks. It isn't necessarily likely IS with your friend, but it absolutely sounds like something is up and she needs to take the baby in. Either to a ped or a ped neurologist. Our ped is the one that suggested it could be seizures and told us what to look for, and sure enough they came on just like she said. Don't most/all states have free health insurance for low income kids? I thought there are many state run agencies that provide for infants and I would start there.

[weliveintheforest]

Did he get vaccines recently? Was there anything else that might have triggered the crying and then throwing up?

[dogretro]

She needs to look into low-income children's insurance programs like CHIP. If you don't have any money, it is free. Many cities/counties also have infant & toddler programs where they will come and asses your baby for free. I know we have one here & we have used it ~ v friendly & completely free.

As a friend, I would not settle for "he may never see a pediatrician." If he needs help, he needs help. There are far too many programs to help at-risk children (being dirt poor is considered a risk) for this to go unchecked. Since you do have a computer, you could look up some services for her. Are they signed up for WIC? The WIC office can help to connect them w/ service providers, too. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by weliveintheforest

Did he get vaccines recently? Was there anything else that might have triggered the crying and then throwing up?

Nope. He's never even been to a doctor's other than being born.

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Originally Posted by dogretro

The WIC office can help to connect them w/ service providers, too. Good luck!

I never thought of WIC. I'll google them now. Thanks.

[KJoslyn78]

If the baby is having issues, i wouldn't hesitate to take my child to the urgent care center or an ER, money or no. That would and could be considered medical neglect and in extreme cases, abuse.

Your friend needs to contact the local dept of social services for assistance in obtaining insurance for her child, and herself. Given that transportation is an issue, they may be able to come to her, or pick her up to come see them.
If the baby ends up being approved for Child Health Plus or medicaid, generally services obtain from the date of filing (and not the final approved date) are covered. I know in NYS, if approved for medicaid, they cover the 3 months prior to your approval, and any infant under age 1 who doesn't have health insurance otherwise, is pretty much automatically approved for medicaid. I am surprised that the hospital didn't mention or assist her in applying for aid, so that they would get paid for their services (unless she had a home birth?).

Also, most counties Dept of Health hold well child visits for exams and or vaccinations, and generally free as well for children. That could be another avenue to look into. And someone already mentioned WIC, which is another great source of information for woman who may need assistance

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Thank you! I googled WIC. I got tons of great links from them. (well, one link led to another)

So, My daughter is going to bring her over here, so they can do some more google searches this weekend on our computer.

There are a lot of services for those who can't pay. The county hospital has a service called early intervention (or something like that) that will send counselors out to the house to observe him and talk to the family.

It's going to be very hard with her (mom) in school, but she's a senior now, and gets out at 12:45. She can try to schedule appts in the afternoon. I'm betting some of her school friends would drive her and the baby to those.

Thank you again.

[KatWrangler]

What state are you in? Most states have First Steps or othe such programs for children under the age of 2 or 3.

Do you have a children's hospital nearby

Department of Human Services is another name to look under for resources.

I agree, this child most likely qualifies for Medicaid.

[Lilypie32]

I'd take her to a place there is internet and apply for medical assistance through her state's website. The baby needs to be seen. If she takes him to the hospital then Medicaid will pay the bills if she qualifies financially.

Please help her.

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Update.

His eyes started shaking from side to side. So, they took him to the county hospital sometime this week. He has a brain tumor. I don't know anything more than that, and they think it's something he was born with. But, until they do surgery, they won't know if it's cancer or an "anomaly" (not even sure that's the word they meant to use, but it makes sense)

I heard this third hand, so I don't actually know much.

[KatWrangler]

My heart is breaking for his Mama. Please let her know we are thinking of her and her baby.

[marinak1977]

poor little guy. I hope this is something that can be helped. At least he's getting help now. I'll be thinking of him

[sbgrace]

I'll be thinking of him and his mommy.

[QueenOfTheMeadow]

Oh no!! I'll be keeping their family and friends in my thoughts.

[BookGoddess]

Poor baby! I hope the tumor is benign and easily treatable.

I am glad that you're helping her. I think she's going to need a lot of support in the months to come.

[To-Fu]

Oh, that poor baby!

[Fuamami]

So sad! Please update as soon as you hear anything.

I was going to ask if the grandmother was stable, I was afraid he had been shaken.

[almadianna]

to this family. Please let us know of any updates.