I haven't updated on Henry's specialist appointment because I just needed to take some time to process everything and find peace with the situation myself first.
The short update is- we're getting Henry a helmet.
The long update is- my Mom and I took Henry to meet with the pediatric neurosurgeon on Tuesday of last week. She took some time and examined Henry and told me his flat spot wasn't affecting his brain growth, a good thing. It had caused his forehead to bulge out a little on the flatter side, and also his ear (his right ear) to be pushed forward a bit. She basically said what I didn't want to hear. She said it was up to us whether we got the helmet or not because it would be considered cosmetic at this point. I honestly wanted someone to tell me yes, he needs it. Or no, he doesn't. It's just not that simple. She gave us a prescription for it, and the name of the orthodist we'd need to see to get it, and said we could talk about it and decide. She kept on and on about how cute Henry is and how there wasn't much we could do to make him any more adorable. That part I agree with! Haha! He is certainly a little charmer, that's for sure.
Dustin and I have talked about it and we decided to go ahead and get the helmet. We don't want to regret later on NOT getting it. Especially if we could do something to help with his head shape and we didn't. If you wait much longer, you've missed the window of opportunity and it's too late. I don't want anyone to think we are just "vain" in doing this. If so, why would anyone ever get braces, that can be just cosmetic, right? In all actuality, a flat spot is truly not just cosmetic. It causes all of the cranial bones to shift. You may not suffer any consequences from it, but then again, you could I'm sure. Also, what if he needs glasses? If his ears aren't aligned, that's going to be hard to manage (my non-medical thought anyway). My personal thought is, if the brain is round and the head is flat, there's bound to be some affects at some point in your life, even if it is much, much later. Maybe not, but all these thoughts are running through my head. So, for our peace of mind as parents, Henry is getting a helmet for a bit. We will go on Monday to do all of his measurements and then the first week of January for the helmet. There will be a few adjustment appointments as well. He will have to wear it 23 hours per day for as long as it takes to "fix" the flat spot. It will possibly take longer now that he's older to correct itself than if we had done this when he was younger. There is now way to know how long it will take though, it depends on the child.
If you are finding this blog because you are also dealing with plagiocephaly, you may be wondering about the cost. Our area has one of the lower figures for helmets, according to all of the research on other blogs I've seen. The helmet is $2500.00 and that is due up front, of course. Insurance sometimes pays for this, but in Henry's case it most likely won't since it is considered cosmetic. They will submit his measurements to the insurance company, but I'm 99 % sure it won't be covered and am not even expecting that. We will be leaving payment when we go Monday to cover it so they can go ahead making his helmet if insurance denies it. I know that seems like a lot to some, but truly I think it will be money well spent to correct his head shape. I don't want him going through life self-concious over this and not able to shave his head short because his head looks "weird". We are blessed to have a health savings account, but I'm not sure what options are available if you do not. I'm just being honest. I read on some blogs where people were able to get a special credit card to just pay for this item, maybe called Care Credit or something similar. I'd really, really hate to think children need these helmets but don't get them for financial reasons. That may be something I research and look into.
So, we are moving forward into our plagiocephaly journey. I am being up front and open about this because I had a friend say that their other friend's child had a leg brace but they were very hush hush about it. I don't want to be hush hush. I am trying to prepare myself for stares as we go out with it, and also I'm sure children will have questions. Maybe we can help another family going through this if we are an "open book" on the subject.
I am 100 % at peace with our decision because I've decided most things I regret in life are things I didn't do, not things I did. And I'm sure Henry will look adorable in his helmet! We just have to figure out what "bling" to order to decorate it. My favorites so far are the ones that say "Fixing my flat" with cars and "under construction" with construction stuff. We want to make it look less "medically" if possible.
That's where we are...I will update on this again Monday after the appointment with the orthodist.
No comments:
Post a Comment