Re: Please, take a look / Now it's up to you!

[Guest guest]

I think that was all very well said and I agree.

I just wanted to add that I know this is a stressful time for a lot

of parents, you're sruggling over whether this is the right thing to

do or not, torn between wanting to do something about their head

shape but concerned about the effects and stigma of a helmet. I

understand all of that. I was kind of on the opposite side of things

because I took what the doctors said as truth and waited for my

son's head to round out on it's own. I waited for over a year, and

it didn't round out. So by the time I pursued banding, I was hoping

to hear that someone would be willing to band him at his age (16

months). I chose CT because they have a great deal of experience

banding babies over the age of 1. In fact, I practically sobbed with

relief when they told me " if he was my son, I'd band. " So I never

saw them as trying to sell anything. From my experience, they seem

like they care a lot and want to help you make an informed decision.

And like Sandy said, they deal with parents like us every day, so

they know what questions are going to be asked and probably like to

give all the information they can so that the questions don't need

be asked at all.

Also, I'd like to point out that measurements offer a starting point

of severity, but should not be depended upon as the end all be all

of each individual case. Anthropometrics (the big word for the head

measurements that they take) were originally created by

anthropologists to measure the skulls of skeletal remains of people

and animals, objects that didn't move. So now they use them for

measuring plagio, which is great, but you have a baby who is moving

and wiggling and crying, etc. It makes it very hard to get exact and

accurate measurements all the time. Plus they are 2-dimensional

linear measurements of a 3-dimensional object and don't take into

account all the volume of the head (particularly the area between

the cranial vault and skull base which is not measured). So all this

to say that CT is trained to not base their treatment on

measurements alone, they are very visual. In fact, the baby will

never be measured at any subsequent adjustments (except for head

circumference) until the end of treatment. They visually compare

progress from the current head shape to the beginning head mold. So

they take measurements as sort of a starting point and give you an

overall assessment based on their experience and the head shape as a

whole.

Also, one last defense about the selling part of it, they don't get

a commission for selling a certain number of bands (I've certainly

experienced furniture and car salesman more aggressive). Plus, a

head has to be a certain degree of severity for the DOCBand to even

work, because if there are no sufficient holding points, the band

can't do it's job. And then the parents won't be happy and CT could

earn a reputation for banding babies that didn't need it, but that

has not been the case. So I strongly feel that they would not

suggest banding if it wasn't a viable option. (Also, just because

another ortho doesn't specialize in just helmets, doesn't mean

they're not out to make a buck either...a StarBand ortho told me

they would band my son as well, but I chose CT instead).

Well, I didn't mean to go into such a tangent. I just wanted to

reiterate what Sanday said and add some additional information. Like

I said, I know this is a tough decision to make. If you hadn't felt

strongly enough that something needed to be done to correct your

baby's head shape, then you probably wouldn't have gone for an eval

in the first place. Just follow your instincts through the process

on whatever paths you take (band or not, CT or Star, etc) and you

will be fine. And we'll be here to support you either way, I promise.

I hope you all continue to find this board helpful, whether we all

share the same opinions or not. I know it helped me tremendously in

the beginning stages of this process and I hope to continue to help

others in the same way. Good luck to everyone!

Jake-21m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DOCBand #2 3weeks)

Jordan-4

>

> Hello all,

>

> For some reason, I feel compelled to " defend " Cranial Technologies.

>

> Our family was very much in the same boat as you guys. CT told us

Lyla was a moderate case (her photos are in the " L " folder) and we

could choose whether or not to go ahead with the Doc Band. I went

knowing that Doc Bands were the only thing CT does and fully

expected them to " sell " us. However, I was pleasantly surprised

with them. I think they are well organized and give you the most

information possible in a short amount of time. Because that

information includes subjects like financing and payments, maybe

some would feel like it was a sales pitch. I, though, just took it

to be Frequently Asked Questions sort of presentation - where they

tried to sum up the answers form me to questions I hadn't even yet

considered.

>

> If CT were truly out to sell bands, I think they would have

strongly suggested us getting the band or even have called her case

more severe than it really was. As fr the measurements, I do

believe they are difficult to go by - I would go by the appearance

instead. Lyla's measurements aren't severe, but looking at her, the

asymmetry is very apparent to me.

>

> Since we went ahead with the Doc Band, CT has been more than kind

to us. They are both professional and personable - a rarity in the

world these days.

>

> I realize this is a difficult decision for some, and I just want

to encourage you that you're a great parent already simply for

noticing and taking action to have your child evaluated. For us, it

was an easy decision. I never want my daughter to grow up, see an

apparent asymmetry in her face and then realize I could have

corrctedd it within a few weeks during the first year of life, yet I

didn't. It's hard enough to be a girl, why add more undue

difficulty? I realize this is not the logic everyone uses, but

rather mine.

>

> And then when she's sixteen and wants a shiny new car, I'll remind

her I spent $3,500 on that band and I have no money saved up for the

car! =)

>

> In the end, it sounds like you'd always question yourself if you

didn't band, so I'd encourage you to move forward with it. In

reality, it's a very sort time period in the grand scheme of things -

it'll be over before we know it!

>

> Good luck and God bless,

> Sandy

> mom to Lyla - 6 months - 3 weeks in Doc Band

> and Owen - 4 years

>

>

> Re: Please, take a look / Now it's up to you!

>

>

>

> Hi Leila/Melinda (and group),

>

> My name is . My daughter, Aryana, was recently evaluated by CT

in San Diego and was also diagnosed with brachycephaly and left

plagiocephaly. Her profile/pictures are nearly identical to Maysa's.

My husband and I have also been struggling as to if she needs to

have the band, or not. On one hand, CT indicated that Aryana's case

is mild to moderate, and yet their 'measurements' indicated that she

is outside the 4th deviation (and according to them and our

insurance, only being outside of the 2nd deviation is required for

treatment/banding) . I question their measurements in that if our

daughter's case is so mild/moderate, then how can she be so far off

the charts? It felt like a sales job and yet we are still left

wondering as to if we should band or not.

>

> We were told by CT that her condition poses no medical risks, and

were also told that in many cases, many parents of daughters choose

not to band since girls typically have hair, which covers it up.

>

> I am feeling very much the same reaction as Melinda. I've been

feeling very guilty as a new mom as this is our first child and at

the same time just wanting to give our daughter the best care she

needs. We are scheduled to have our daughter remeasured and will

make a decision based on that (now that we've done our research and

feel better about making an informed decision). I suspect, like

Melinda, that we will decide to band as we too feel that

repositioning will not help with the brachy.

>

> We were just notified on Friday that our insurance (Health Net)

will cover $2200 of it, which is great.

>

> I too have been one of the group members who have been reading all

of the postings and learning from you all. This group has been a

great wealth of information. Many thanks!

>

> As it is likely that we will be banding our daughter very soon, I

look forward to learning even more and gaining support from this

group. Good luck with your decision, Leila. I feel your pain...we're

in the same boat.

>

> Sincerely,

>

> (mom to Aryana, 5 months 1 week, L Plagio/Brachy - soon to

determine using DOC band)

>