Contemplating a second consult with Cranial Tech- ? for Leila and others

May 13, 2009

Leila,

I was reading your response below and it prompted me to submit a question to the

group as I have been contemplating bringing my daughter to Cranial Tech for

another evalaution. You mentioned below that your daughter's head is still

wider than normal above the ears and that this will remain. I guess this is not

correctable. I brought my daughter to Cranial Tech when she was 4 months old

and my biggest concern with the her head shape was that the flat side of her

head bumped out more than normal by the ears. That side has rounded out a

little but it still sticks out more than normal, I think she has mild plagio and

perhaps brachy (if it is possible to have brachy just on one side). Cranial

Tech told me that her plagio is too mild for a helmet and that they can't push

in the side that is sticking out. They told me to do re-positioning and sent me

home. I am still not happy with her head shape and was contemplating bringing

her back to Cranial Tech for another consult(she is 7 months now) but I'm afraid

they are going to tell me the same thing. I guess a part of me believes that if

they restore more balance to her head shape perhaps the part that is sticking

out won't seem so prominent. Is that true? Has anyone seen this with their kid.

I am so confused about what to do. I don't want to miss the window of

opportunity to do something but I also don't want to push for the helmet if it

is going to be a waste of our time and money. Any insight would be helpful.

Annette (Leana 7months, mild plagio/tort)

In Plagiocephaly , L R <leilarem@...> wrote:

>

> I do agree with that the profile picture you posted of Jayden does

shows really great improvement, on the other hand I also understand when you say

that he " looks the same " . I, too, see where Maysa " looks the same " . She is

still wider than normal above the ears and I now know that it will always be

that way. I have been looking at some older pictures of Maysa, like

said, and I posted another comparison of her top view from July of last year to

now. Again, her head is not perfect and not " normal " , but we've come a long

way. Here is the link to the post:

http://mymaysa.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/top-view-comparison/

>

> Leila,

> Maysa, 15.5 months, 2 weeks left in DOC band 2

> www.mymaysa.wordpress.com

>

> From: <nwilkens2275@...>

> Subject: Re: A mix up! YES!

> Plagiocephaly

> Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 11:44 AM

>

> Antonia-

> Do you mean you can't see the difference in his before and after photos you

posted recently? Because I can see an AMAZING difference in those photos, and

frankly, a lot of times pictures can't capture all the improvement very well. I

SERIOUSLY think that he looks great from that side angle, it's MUCH rounder and

doesn't look as high or sloped at the crown. Maybe you should look at some older

photos of him to see how far he's come? It saddens me that you're not happy with

the results you got when it seems he got really great results considering his

age and all you went through for treatment. I'm not sure what else to say....

>

> Jake-2.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

> Jordan-5

>

> > >

> > > Okay. Well ...long story short...last time I called on the phone to get my

sons cephalic index and messurements at CT they got us confused with another

patient with the same first and last name. His mom is Antoinette not

Antonia...ironic I know, but I'm so HAPPY and heres why!!!!!!

> > >

> > > Well today...was our graduation. I was ready to walk into CT and spit fire

or punch one of them after last week they had gave me another patients numbers

and said we started at 95% and only went down a few decimals. Here is the real

scoop and ill be posting pics ASAP!

> > >

> > > Today was graduation and of course they could tell I was pissed off beyond

words when we got there. I was really getting mad because after the mix up on

the phone ( and at this point they hadnt realized it yet) they were discouraging

a second band to the fullest. Like they made me feel like they were pushing us

(nicely out the door) which I find odd since they help so many older babies.

> > >

> > > Anyway, after we figured out the mix up....We started with the scan. Well

Jayden wasnt having it and they didnt get a very good one to compare. Not

at all. So they did the measurements and the after pics. THANK GOD I got the

CORRECT info. on 1/19/09 we were at 96.5 percent for the cephalic index WOW.

Today....drum roll please...we went to 90.6 percent. OMG. I guess because I see

him everyday...I couldnt tell. The before and after pics you can REALLY see

change. Now for the head out of the top of the helmet. They said that He had

increased head height that made his head slope down to his forehead, and that

the growth on top gave a more even across the top look, which now I DO see in

the after pic. I'm going to have to take a pic of a pic since I dont have a

scanner but it will show you a good idea. Now of course....his head still has a

major flat spot in the back that I will just have to learn to accept and...It

still looks ugly to me from the

> > top, BUt hey those are really good measurements. Now as for the mix up I

told them I was ready to rip some eyeballs out and they are making sure to pay

better attention in the future cause boy was I HEATED. Its been a long 16 weeks

but...I'm glad its over. The ladies cried and hugged him bye, and my son kept

pointing to his " hemmie " and pointing to his head because he wants it back on. I

am mad they were kind of careless about the mix up, BUT so glad it was a mistake

because Jayden DID get correction regardless of what I still see. A big

thing that does have me wondering though, when they did mix me up on the phone

and had said the baby went from 95% to 94.6 % they were like pretty much

refusing to do a second band because of older babies not growing so much. That I

find odd cause many people hear started later and had two bands. Perhaps a

second band would get even better numbers, but eh, I just dont think I can do 16

more weeks of Arizona lol.

> > After seeing everything in the end AFTER figuring out they had confused me

with another patient on the phone I'm much better now. I still wonder why not

much was shaved out of the back of the band, I asked and they said that he had

mild plagio too so they were focasing on that primarily and the brachy as a

close second. Its kind of bitter sweet because the 16 weeks went so fast and we

are not used to the helmet free head but I'm glad to be done.

> > > Of course as soon as we got off the plane we were drivin home and got into

a serious car accident where Baby got a concussion. Wish we had left " hemmie " on

just a bit longer and it might have added some protection. Our car is totaled,

but were all okay. That is our story! Thank you all so much for the

encouragement, the tips, the suggestions that got us to angel flights then to

Arizona CT. I'll be sticking around because I see how much staying around really

helps the newbies who are so lost. I know without you and this board...it would

have not been possible.

> > >

> >

>

May 13, 2009

Annette,

It would really helped if you posted a picture of your daughter's "bumpy side". It is true that no helmet can push in a part of the skull that has stuck out put it can prevent it from sticking out more and growing in that direction as the baby's head grows. The DOC bands have done that for us. So while Maysa's head will always be a bit wider than the rest of us in our family, it is not as wide as it used to be because the growth was redirected elsewhere.

Do you know your daughter's plagio measurements? Do you think that her head got worse in some other areas? In our case, when we tried repositioning, she developed brachy in addition to plagio, and that's when her ears started sticking out.

Another question for you: is her tort resolved?

If you are concerned, I guess that it won't hurt to go back to CT and get a re-evaluation. They should be able to do that for you and maybe take some comparision pictures. Your daughter is now 7 months and if something had to be done about it, I would go for it now.

I have been looking at a lot of pictures of Maysa from when she was much younger and found one of her when she was 1 day old. I am creating a new post for you to look at in which I am posting that picture of her and one that was taken this weekend. You'll see what I mean by wider above the ears and her ears sticking out and making a V shape. Just go to http://mymaysa.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/day-1-and-15-5-months-later/ to check it out.

Leila,

Maysa, almost 16 months, 2 weeks left in DOC band 2

www.mymaysa.wordpress.com > > > From: <nwilkens2275@ ...>> Subject: Re: A mix up! YES!> Plagiocephaly> Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 11:44 AM> > > > > > > > > Antonia-> Do you mean you can't see the difference in his before and after photos you posted recently? Because I can see an AMAZING difference in those photos, and frankly, a lot of times pictures can't capture all the improvement very well. I SERIOUSLY think that he looks great from that side angle, it's MUCH rounder and doesn't look as high or sloped at the crown. Maybe you should look at some older photos of him to see how far he's come? It saddens me that you're not happy with the results you got when it seems he got really great results considering his age and all you went through for treatment. I'm not sure what else to

say....> > > Jake-2.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)> Jordan-5 > > > > >> > > Okay. Well ...long story short...last time I called on the phone to get my sons cephalic index and messurements at CT they got us confused

with another patient with the same first and last name. His mom is Antoinette not Antonia...ironic I know, but I'm so HAPPY and heres why!!!!!!> > > > > > Well today...was our graduation. I was ready to walk into CT and spit fire or punch one of them after last week they had gave me another patients numbers and said we started at 95% and only went down a few decimals. Here is the real scoop and ill be posting pics ASAP!> > > > > > Today was graduation and of course they could tell I was pissed off beyond words when we got there. I was really getting mad because after the mix up on the phone ( and at this point they hadnt realized it yet) they were discouraging a second band to the fullest. Like they made me feel like they were pushing us (nicely out the door) which I find odd since they help so many older babies.> > > > > > Anyway, after we figured out the mix up....We started

with the scan. Well Jayden wasnt having it and they didnt get a very good one to compare. Not at all. So they did the measurements and the after pics. THANK GOD I got the CORRECT info. on 1/19/09 we were at 96.5 percent for the cephalic index WOW. Today....drum roll please...we went to 90.6 percent. OMG. I guess because I see him everyday...I couldnt tell. The before and after pics you can REALLY see change. Now for the head out of the top of the helmet. They said that He had increased head height that made his head slope down to his forehead, and that the growth on top gave a more even across the top look, which now I DO see in the after pic. I'm going to have to take a pic of a pic since I dont have a scanner but it will show you a good idea. Now of course....his head still has a major flat spot in the back that I will just have to learn to accept and...It still looks ugly to me from the> > top, BUt hey those are really good

measurements. Now as for the mix up I told them I was ready to rip some eyeballs out and they are making sure to pay better attention in the future cause boy was I HEATED. Its been a long 16 weeks but...I'm glad its over. The ladies cried and hugged him bye, and my son kept pointing to his "hemmie" and pointing to his head because he wants it back on. I am mad they were kind of careless about the mix up, BUT so glad it was a mistake because Jayden DID get correction regardless of what I still see. A big thing that does have me wondering though, when they did mix me up on the phone and had said the baby went from 95% to 94.6 % they were like pretty much refusing to do a second band because of older babies not growing so much. That I find odd cause many people hear started later and had two bands. Perhaps a second band would get even better numbers, but eh, I just dont think I can do 16 more weeks of Arizona lol.> > After seeing everything

in the end AFTER figuring out they had confused me with another patient on the phone I'm much better now. I still wonder why not much was shaved out of the back of the band, I asked and they said that he had mild plagio too so they were focasing on that primarily and the brachy as a close second. Its kind of bitter sweet because the 16 weeks went so fast and we are not used to the helmet free head but I'm glad to be done. > > > Of course as soon as we got off the plane we were drivin home and got into a serious car accident where Baby got a concussion. Wish we had left "hemmie" on just a bit longer and it might have added some protection. Our car is totaled, but were all okay. That is our story! Thank you all so much for the encouragement, the tips, the suggestions that got us to angel flights then to Arizona CT. I'll be sticking around because I see how much staying around really helps the newbies who are so lost. I know without you and

this board...it would have not been possible.> > >> >>

May 13, 2009

Leila,

Thanks for the response and I posted a message on your website.

Annette

> > > >

> > > > Okay. Well ...long story short...last time I called on the phone to get

my sons cephalic index and messurements at CT they got us confused with another

patient with the same first and last name. His mom is Antoinette not

Antonia...ironic I know, but I'm so HAPPY and heres why!!!!!!

> > > >

> > > > Well today...was our graduation. I was ready to walk into CT and spit

fire or punch one of them after last week they had gave me another patients

numbers and said we started at 95% and only went down a few decimals. Here is

the real scoop and ill be posting pics ASAP!

> > > >

> > > > Today was graduation and of course they could tell I was pissed off

beyond words when we got there. I was really getting mad because after the mix

up on the phone ( and at this point they hadnt realized it yet) they were

discouraging a second band to the fullest. Like they made me feel like they were

pushing us (nicely out the door) which I find odd since they help so many older

babies.

> > > >

> > > > Anyway, after we figured out the mix up....We started with the scan.

Well Jayden wasnt having it and they didnt get a very good one to compare.

Not at all. So they did the measurements and the after pics. THANK GOD I got the