Update on Jake (older baby with 2 DOCBands)

[Guest guest]

Hi all-

I just wanted to give anyone who was interested an update on my son

Jake. For those of you who don't know our story, Jake was born with

tort that led to plagio. A number of doctors told us it would round

out on its own, so we trusted those doctors' opinions. However, the

natural improvement was VERY minimal and as every month would tick

away, I would become more and more stressed that it was never going

to correct on its own.

When Jake was 16 months old, we FINALLY got a doctor to write a

script for a band and we chose to go to Cranial Tech in Charlotte,

because I had faith in their product and they had a great deal of

experience with older babies (over 12 months). He received his first

DOCBand on 2/11/08 at 17 months 1 week old. He wore that band for

the full 16 weeks allowed and we saw visible positive changes. We

decided to pursue a second band to try to get as much correction as

we could before he turned 2, so at 14 weeks in the first band, he

was scanned for the second and went right from one to the other with

no break. Again, he wore the second band for the full 16 weeks

allowed, and again we saw visible positive change.

So, after 32 weeks, I can happily say that Jake graduated from his

DOCBand last Friday (9/19/08) at 24 months 2 weeks old. I am VERY

happy with his results, especially considering we had such a late

start. I really had my expectations low so that I wouldn't be

disappointed. On Friday, I was so excited to be done, that I forgot

to ask for his final measurements, but I called and they mailed me a

copy of them, which I just got today. They actually exceeded my

expectations:

Traditional Cranial Vault

Before 15mm

After 1stBand 11mm

After 2ndBand 5mm

Cranial Vault

Before 19mm

After 1stBand 10mm

After 2ndBand 4mm

Skull Base

Before 15mm

After 1stBand 10mm

After 2ndBand 6mm

All within the very mild range, I can't believe it! I can still see

the imperfections when his hair is wet and slicked down, but when

it's dry, you can't see anything off at all. I'm just so excited to

see his pretty red curls all the time. He looks taller and skinnier

now without his band and seems to have grown into a " big boy "

overnight.

CT is supposed to email me his last comparison photostudy, but I

have not received it yet. As soon as I do, I will post it. But I

just wanted to let anyone know who is questioning whether it's too

late to go through the banding process, IT'S NOT TOO LATE. It's

definitely worth trying, it can't hurt, it can only help. What I

told myself going into this was, if I can just make it a LITTLE

better, I will be happy. And I'm just really happy that we seemed to

be able to make it A LOT better. Any natural rounding that does

occur as he gets older, will just be an added bonus. I will still

always recommend banding way earlier (6-9 months), but if your

concerns were pushed aside again and again like mine were, but you

still have the chance to do something even if it's later than

recommended, PLEASE go for it. It's really worth it.

So that's our story now. Some of you know that I'm also a moderator

of the board, so I won't be going anywhere anytime soon. You're

stuck with me! But I wanted to post an update so anyone in the

future who shows up on the board frantic for advice on what to do

with their older baby (like I did 8 months ago!), might find some

peace of mind in our experience. Thanks for reading!

Jake-2 (tort resolved/DOCBand Grad 9/19/08)

Jordan-4.5