Guest guest Posted August 2, 2002 Report Share Posted August 2, 2002 Well, I just want to say how pleased I am to see my little boy's picture on the website. It is a wonderful feeling, since I have been a member of this group for a little over a year now and it took half that time just to have a picture to submit. Thank you everyone for your nice words about . 's story is a long one, one that many of you have heard many times, namely Niki, Marci, Debbie, , AnnMarie, Kendra and Beck. But for the newbies out there, I'll try to keep it short and to the point. was born January 17, 2001 at 11:04 p.m. after being induced for low amniotic fluid and no movement from on his stress test. I pushed for four hours with no success. 's face was "sunny-side up," which caused him to be stuck in the birth canal. I am now convinced this was the cause of his torticollis and plagio. After six days of NICU care for a fever that was never diagnosed, he came home with us. I was told to always place on his right side to sleep after feeding, which in the beginning, I was always putting him down to sleep right after feeding, so he was always on his right side! By two months old, I noticed one day while holding him in front of a mirror that 's right side of his head was flat and his cheeks were different sizes, as well as his eyes. We also noticed that would only look with his head to the right. No matter what might be on the left, his head looked literally "cranked" to the right. When taken to the doctor, the peds told me basically, don't worry about it. It will work itself out. I being young and a first-time mom, I didn't question doctors and trusted that they were giving my son the best care possible. It was not until his six-month appointment that the peds really thought there was something wrong and referred me to a craniofacial specialist. From there we were told to reposition for a month, but by the time we went back to see him, he was seven months and not up for being repositioned. He was diagnosed with moderate to severe plagiocephaly and mild torticollis. The tort didn't require any PT. We did a few exercises at home and it seemed to really take care of itself. His head however would need a helmet. We received the helmet, but not until he was almost nine months, and then we got screwed royally by the military when my husband was discharged. Basically, in a nutshell, the military was not going to allow us to get on base to get 's helmet adjustments due to heightened restrictions after September 11. So when my husband's civilian insurance kicked in, we went ahead with the passive helmet from Seattle Children's Hospital. In retrospect, I wish we would've gone with the DOC band. He was 12 months exactly when he started helmet treatment, and though his head looks 100 percent better than it used to, we didn't get the correction we had hoped for with the helmet. However, he's a happy healthy 18-month-old now and his head looks great! No one notices it...I have to physically point out what only I know is there. Now I just stick around to help the newbies out there any way I can. Thank you everyone for your kind words and great support. Kellie, mom of , 18 months Olympia, WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2002 Report Share Posted August 2, 2002 Thanks for sharing your story, I hadn't heard it before. I can't believe the military base screwed you like that!!! I am glad that I know the story behind s cute little face now1 -/Logan 5.75 months PA > Well, I just want to say how pleased I am to see my little boy's picture on > the website. It is a wonderful feeling, since I have been a member of this > group for a little over a year now and it took half that time just to have a > picture to submit. Thank you everyone for your nice words about . > > 's story is a long one, one that many of you have heard many times, > namely Niki, Marci, Debbie, , AnnMarie, Kendra and Beck. But for the > newbies out there, I'll try to keep it short and to the point. > > was born January 17, 2001 at 11:04 p.m. after being induced for low > amniotic fluid and no movement from on his stress test. I pushed for > four hours with no success. 's face was " sunny-side up, " which caused > him to be stuck in the birth canal. I am now convinced this was the cause of > his torticollis and plagio. After six days of NICU care for a fever that was > never diagnosed, he came home with us. I was told to always place on > his right side to sleep after feeding, which in the beginning, I was always > putting him down to sleep right after feeding, so he was always on his right > side! > > By two months old, I noticed one day while holding him in front of a mirror > that 's right side of his head was flat and his cheeks were different > sizes, as well as his eyes. We also noticed that would only look with > his head to the right. No matter what might be on the left, his head looked > literally " cranked " to the right. > > When taken to the doctor, the peds told me basically, don't worry about it. > It will work itself out. I being young and a first-time mom, I didn't > question doctors and trusted that they were giving my son the best care > possible. It was not until his six-month appointment that the peds really > thought there was something wrong and referred me to a craniofacial > specialist. From there we were told to reposition for a month, but by the > time we went back to see him, he was seven months and not up for being > repositioned. He was diagnosed with moderate to severe plagiocephaly and > mild torticollis. The tort didn't require any PT. We did a few exercises at > home and it seemed to really take care of itself. His head however would > need a helmet. We received the helmet, but not until he was almost nine > months, and then we got screwed royally by the military when my husband was > discharged. Basically, in a nutshell, the military was not going to allow us > to get on base to get 's helmet adjustments due to heightened > restrictions after September 11. > > So when my husband's civilian insurance kicked in, we went ahead with the > passive helmet from Seattle Children's Hospital. In retrospect, I wish we > would've gone with the DOC band. He was 12 months exactly when he started > helmet treatment, and though his head looks 100 percent better than it used > to, we didn't get the correction we had hoped for with the helmet. > > However, he's a happy healthy 18-month-old now and his head looks great! No > one notices it...I have to physically point out what only I know is there. > Now I just stick around to help the newbies out there any way I can. > > Thank you everyone for your kind words and great support. > > Kellie, mom of , 18 months > Olympia, WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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