Craniosynostosis Part 3

The Helmet Process......

Part of choosing the less invasive surgery for Kenna's birth defect meant that she would have to wear a helmet for a year after the surgery to reshape her head and also to protect her head. They told us that the bone they removed from her skull would take a year to grow most of the way in and the rest (a small quarter size area) would slowly grow until she turned five or six.

Well....I am happy to report that her skull has already grown back! She has two quarter size areas on each side of her skull that have not grown back yet, but they think those spots will continue to fill in. If not, she will get another surgery when she is five to fill in the spots with bone cement (can you believe what they can do these days? I mean seriously, cement for your head?!?). Anyway, I am choosing not to think about that because I am telling myself that those spots will fill in by then ;-)

Every two months Kenna has to get a new helmet. The process for getting a new one is so not fun! She is not a fan and neither am I. Anyhow, what they do is put her in this little chair, put a nylon down over her face and arms, measure a million times (this is only a slight exaggeration, it is close to a million ;-), and then they cast her head. Let me tell you, trying to hold down a 6 month old while they put strips of plaster all over her head one by one is not easy! And then we have to sit and entertain her while it dries, and then the Dr. has to pull it off of her head without messing it up......fun times :)
Her Orthopedic Dr. is absolutely the best Dr ever......The day before her surgery I had called about 20 different offices and they had either never heard of the surgery and the kind of helmet she needed, or they didn't take our insurance. By the time I called the Dr she has now I was in tears and he was so sweet. He saw her that very same day (canceling an important meeting to do so) and has met with her every two weeks since the surgery.

I only have a picture of her in the nylons, because this is before she got completely ticked off at the Dr and at me and I couldn't walk away from her to take another picture. As you can see, she was already getting upset at this point....