A Helmeting We Go...

Thanks so much for all of your encouraging comments and prayers as we tried to make the best decision about the helmet for Mason. After talking more to Dr. H (a family friend), we decided to go ahead with the orthotic evaluation, even though we weren't 100% convinced that Mason really needed a helmet. To be honest, we just really didn't want to do something for cosmetic reasons only. It seemed silly and a waste of time and money. Who says kids need to have perfectly round heads, anyway? Of course, we were willing to put our attitude aside simply because Mason couldn't speak up and say, "I really don't want a flat head!"

Here's what we saw:

Was it bad? Bad enough? Not so bad? We just couldn't decide.

So as I was driving to our appointment in the city yesterday, I just prayed that it would be clear. That Shandy and I would be convinced of the necessity of a helmet - or at peace with him not needing a helmet. Either way, I just prayed for peace about the decision.

God completely answered my prayer. About 2 minutes into the lengthy evaluation, the orthotist pointed out that his head was significantly flattened. He agreed with what the neurologist had dictated in his notes (but didn't say to us), that it was indeed "moderate to severe", but called it the "very high end of moderate". He said that he has told several parents that their child's head was quite mild and not in need of a helmet, but that he would "never tell us that." Here are some other things he mentioned:

*His right ear is a healthy centimeter ahead of his left, which would make wearing glasses a little more difficult.

*His right cheek is a little fuller than his left (the neurologist had pointed that out)

*He was surprised, in light of how much flattening there was, that his face was as symmetrical as it is.

*If we did nothing, he could experience mandible (jaw) problems in the future, indicated at first by a popping or clicking in his jaw. Guess what? It already pops, and often.

*If we did nothing there could be a very slight chance of pressure on his optic nerve, impacting his sight.

My response was, "That's great! I mean, not great. But great in that it helps us make a decision - and an easy one."

From there I was veerrry educated on the art of "cranial remolding", a long history on helmets, the old and now high-tech process of fitting a helmet, care for helmets, an occasional story of one of the 200+ children this guy has fitted a helmet, and a lot of other interesting tidbits. After one hour, I asked if we could just go ahead with the "scan" that day and get the show on the road. Since he had an open schedule, that's just what they did. I wish I would've taken a few more pictures, but here's the only one I took:

Mason was not impressed with the orthotist sticking a whole bunch of reflective dots all over his face and head (which was tucked into a tight bonnet thing). But, after that was all done, he was pretty much okay with the rest of the process. After sticking on the reflectors, he used a laser thing (it looked like a souped-up controller for a video game - and much bigger) that he shined all over his head. The cameras picked up the reflections and it produced a 3D image of Mason's cranium on his computer. That's the part I wish I would've taken a picture of. If there was any question of his plagiocephaly, it was very obvious when aligned on an axis. It looked normal in the front and like a lopsided football in the back.

And that was it. In another week or two, Mason will be the proud wearer of a green and brown camouflage cranial remolding helmet. Woot-woot. And after just 4-8 months, we hope that plagiocephaly will be just another word for the medical books and a distant memory. Bring on the helmet!

PS: An added bonus will be that as Mason learns to crawl, walk, and run, he will have a very sturdy helmet to protect his noggin. Do you think we could get one for Lily? She still needs it.