"What works for us" Wednesdays

The internet.

It is probably the strongest form of "Parent to Parent" that I have EVER experienced.

I have learned from families so similar to mine. And would never have been able to learn their 'pearls of wisdom' would it not have been for the internet. I have been learned that there are many families of multiples where one is enhanced with Ds. If you are similar to us (twins or triplets where one or all of the kids have Ds) Yahoo Groups has a wonderful support group with all kinds of great ideas. I don't have enough time to check the group messages so I signed up for emails that consolidate one week of postings into one email. I simply scan the email topics (located within the email) and pick out the ones that I would gain more knowledge from. Yahoo Groups also has a Hirschsprung's Disease group which I do the same for. There is a gentleman in that group that is in his 50's with HD, and boy howdy does he share a wealth of information with all of us newbies.

I love to read others blogs. I don't often post comments just because someone is either on my lap (and therefore my free hand is running the mouse to navigate) or I'm checking their blog on my work break! :) My only wish is that more people would Blog. There is a special friend of ours in Arizona now that I wish would blog. So, if you are thinking you can fit it into your daily life and were wondering if you should..... yes, you need to blog. We all have so much to share with each other and it's a great way to preserve our daily memories.

We also research diagnosis and therapy options on the internet. This I have to limit to a minimum. There is no current research. I simply trust God and know that he is placing skilled people in our life at the right moments to help us. But, every now and then I do sneak a quick 'google' in on a topic of current struggles.

The last benefit of the internet has been to reconcile our insurance explanation of benefits (EOBs). With two forms of insurance (plus Medicaid for Tommy) and a family of SIX, we find it necessary to reconcile who has paid what, and why do we still need to pay something. No more paper EOBs!! You can choose (with most insurance companies) to set up an online account and review all the EOBs that way.

That my friends, is what works for us Wednesday..... the internet.