Re: Kathy and Kayla - U of M

[Guest guest]

Hi, Kathy. It sounds like you've got everything going perfect. I actually know quite a lot about the U of M helmet and the craniofacial clinic. First, I hope the repositioning works over the next couple of months, but if not, 4 months is a perfect time to see the specialists. You won't see the Dr., but will see a nurse instead. I would go in armed with plenty of info on plagio and at least an idea of whether or not YOU feel Kyla needs a helmet. The reason I say this is that I wasn't really impressed with the nurse. She will tell you if she feels a helmet will help your child, but won't take any measurements (and is unlikely to take xrays or a CT scan). The evaluation is all done visually. If you decide to get a helmet you will get casted that day. The casting process is much easier than if it was a DOCband or STARband. They use this fiberglass casting material. It takes less time, is less messy, and doesn't require covering the babies face. The helmet costs $1500 and looks like a hockey helmet. It is a passive design, so as the babies head grows it fills the helmet. Sometimes they'll put a chin strap on it, but not usually. I'll try to attach some pictures to show you what it looks like. MCARE covered our helmet (I would call just to verify this is still true beforehand though).

Now, I'm going to tell you a condensed version of our story. My daughter wore the U of M helmet from 8 to 11.5 months. At 11.5 months she began wearing a DOCband and is on her 2nd band right now (she's nearly 18 months now). The reason we switched is because there was no improvement to her head shape in the U of M helmet. I think there were a lot of reasons for this. First, we had a really hard time getting a good fit (when she was cast for the 4th helmet is when I said we were done). Second, we ended up seeing several orthotists over that time (because people got sick had accidents and stuff like that, no ones fault). I think that it is imperative to have only one orthotist throughout the treatment for continuity of care. Third, my daughter's plagio was quite severe, she is a slow grower, and she was already 8 months old. That being said, however I still don't think the U of M helmet is really a bad helmet. We had a bad experience, but I do know several people who have had GREAT success with it. Plus, since your daughter will be very young, I do think the U of M helmet would work great. If your daughter were 9 or 10 months old, I might recommend a DOC or STARband since the helmet is more passive. This is all just purely my own opinion based on my experience and the experience of several others I know. Well, this got very long, but I hope it gave you some info you were looking for. Feel free to ask me any questions at all. I'll answer what I can. Oh, our helmet was purple, but you can choose from about a dozen colors.

----Original Message Follows----

From: "Kathy "

Reply-Plagiocephaly

Subject: Re: Need Help In Detroit Michigan Area

Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 18:45:33 -0400

Debbie,

Hi, I'm Kayla's mom. Kayla is 2 months old and we are working with repositioning. We have an appt. at UofM on June 27th if Kayla needs it. Debbie do you know anything about their locally made helmet? If Kayla should need a helmet any information you could provide will help us decide what to do. We have MCare and are part of the UofM Health System. I have no complaints. When I called our insurance company they said they cover one model. If Kayla get this far hopefully we will be covered.

Kathy

Brighton, MI

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[Guest guest]

Debra,

Thank you very much for all of the information! This really helps prepare me for the process. If we get tat far, I'll be sure to go in armed with questions.

Thanks again!

Re: Need Help In Detroit Michigan Area

Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 18:45:33 -0400

Debbie,

Hi, I'm Kayla's mom. Kayla is 2 months old and we are working with repositioning. We have an appt. at UofM on June 27th if Kayla needs it. Debbie do you know anything about their locally made helmet? If Kayla should need a helmet any information you could provide will help us decide what to do. We have MCare and are part of the UofM Health System. I have no complaints. When I called our insurance company they said they cover one model. If Kayla get this far hopefully we will be covered.

Kathy

Brighton, MI

MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: Click HereFor more plagio info