Re: Angelina's in the Island Parent magazine!!-Christie

[Guest guest]

Hey ,

I was asking if there was a link to the interview somewhere, but, is

it okay with you if I just now copied an pasted it onto a plain text

file in the Files/Plagio in the News folder? I think it's a great

addition to the site, and it's nice to have a media story with

information for Canada mentioned.

Would you let me know if it's okay that it is saved on our group

site?

Christie (Mom to Repo'd Remy)

> >

> > We were interviewed last month regarding Lina's plagio and I

think

> > Platt did a good job with the article, what do you guys

> > think?? In the magazine, BScN used my idea and

also

> > wrote about " your baby's headshape. " See www.islandparent.ca to

> read

> > about that one.

> >

> > Blacklaws, mommy to Angelina 15 mos tort,local helmet

> grad

> > Dec 02/04 after 5 mos and mommy to 2, Abbey 4 and Sam 12

> >

> > Here's the article on Angelina...

> >

> > A Healthy Decision

> > Trusting your instincts and doing the research

> > by Platt

> >

> > Blacklaws wasn't the first one to notice the flat spot on

> > her

> > four-month-old daughter Angelina's head. It was her neighbour,

> > something she says is quite common. " It's often someone else

> > who

> > notices small asymmetries or abnormalities; when you're so

close

> > to

> > someone, they're easy to overlook. " and her husband Ken

> > had

> > been busy dealing with Angelina's torticollis, a condition in

> > which

> > the muscles on one side of the neck are tight, causing the

neck to

> > twist or bend toward that side. By the time Angelina was three

> months

> > old, she couldn't spend any time on her tummy because the

> > position

> > was too uncomfortable. " She cried all the time, right from the

> > beginning, " says .

> >

> > Due to the shortened muscles, Angelina was only able to turn

her

> head

> > to the left, causing discomfort and, ultimately, the flat spot

on

> the

> > left side of her head that the neighbour pointed out. This

spot,

> > known as a deformational (or positional) plagiocephaly, is

often

> seen

> > in children with congenital torticollis, but has also become

more

> > common in recent years with the " Back To Sleep " campaign that

> > encourages parents to place babies on their backs to sleep in

> order

> > to help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Another

> > contributing factor is the extended use of car seats, infant

> carriers

> > and infant swings that can all cause constant pressure in one

> place

> > on a baby's developing skull. The Blacklaws began a series of

> > stretching and repositioning exercises to treat Angelina's

> > torticollis but after four months saw little effect on the

> > plagiocephaly.

> >

> > Angelina was developing what is known as a facial asymmetry.

Her

> left

> > eye and cheek appeared larger, her left ear was forward and

higher

> > and her forehead looked bulbous. " Basically, everything was

> > moving

> > forward and up. " According to , the best way to see the

> > changes

> > was in a mirror and when Angelina's hair was wet.

> >

> > The family travelled to Children's Hospital in Vancouver and

had

> > Angelina's head measured. Her plagiocephaly initially measured

in

> > the

> > mild-to-moderate range. " Many doctors think the head will round

> > out

> > on its own and sometimes it does. My first doctor told me not

to

> > worry, but it just wasn't sitting right with me. I had to trust

> > my `mommy gut', " says . " I got on the internet

> > and connected

> > with lots of other parents. I read everything and asked lots of

> > questions. " The decision the Blacklaws made to get Angelina

into

> > a

> > cranial remolding helmet was really due to the potential

> consequences

> > of not treating the condition.

> >

> > " The doctors all said the decision was up to us and we wrestled

> > with

> > it but when Angelina was remeasured a few weeks after the

initial

> > appointment, the assessment was upgraded to moderate. Untreated

> > plagio can lead to all kinds of consequences, from migraines to

> > visual impairment, and we weren't going to take the chance with

> > Angelina. Once we made the decision, we never looked back, "

> > says. " Angelina has worn the helmet 23 hours a day for about

five

> > months. It should come off in a few weeks. It's a short period

in

> > life to wear a little helmet and she's had no problem with it.

> > I've

> > taken pictures every week and we can see big changes. "

> >

> > Currently, Valley Orthocare in Surrey is the only place in B.C.

> that

> > makes cranial remolding helmets. The Blacklaws have travelled

to

> > Surrey every three weeks for helmet adjustments. The cost of

the

> > helmet, follow-up visits and travel were covered by MSP, Fair

> > Pharmacare and the family's extended medical plan. is

> > currently

> > advocating to have Cranial Technologies, the main manufacturer

of

> > remolding helmets, open an office in B.C.

> >

> > refers to herself as the " plagio police. " She has made

> > herself

> > a resource for parents and the medical community, sending

recent

> > research, letters and photos of Angelina to physicians in

> Vancouver

> > and . She is emphatic about tummy time. " `Back to

sleep,

> > tummy to play' is important for parents to remember, " she

> > says. She

> > encourages parents who are concerned that their child may have

> > plagiocephaly not to accept one opinion, to ask lots of

questions

> and

> > to use the internet as a resource (www.plagiocephaly.org).

> >

> > also cautions parents that there is a time factor

involved

> in

> > the use of a helmet. The skull fuses by approximately two

years of

> > age, making the treatment ineffective after that. Children can

> start

> > wearing a helmet as late as 18 months but generally, the

younger

> the

> > child the shorter the time it takes to correct an asymmetry. It

> makes

> > sense to get babies into a helmet when they are quite young.

> Between

> > three to six months of age seems to be the ideal time,

according

> to

> > research.

> >

> > Right now, Angelina is the only child on Vancouver Island to

have

> a

> > cranial remolding helmet. " I want other parents to know that

> > there is

> > something non-invasive they can do to help treat babies with

> > plagiocephaly, " says . " It's one of the best

> > decisions I've ever

> > made. "

> >

> > You can reach at kblacklaws@t...

> > To learn more about baby's head shape, plagiocephaly and

> > torticollis,

> > refer to 's column on page 44 of this issue of

Island

> > Parent. Remember to consult your doctor if you have any

concerns

> > around the health and development of your baby.

> > Platt

>

>

>

>

>

> For more plagio info