Re: New to group...anyone from Vancouver, BC?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Chantel is adorble. I love the pic with her big sister. Her band looks

a lot different to me than others I've seen. In the pics it moves a

lot and also doesn't cover as much of the head. It sort of sits up

above the ears rather than having a side burn. I'm guessing that it is

a passive band - more or less a symmetric shell to grow into. Hanger,

DOCband and Starbands are active bands that apply gentle pressure to

prominent areas and direct growth to flat areas. These bands all have

a layer of foam inside that is removed where needed to make room for

new growth. These are usually more effective on older babies.

I looked at orthomerica.com (maker of starband) and they have 2 places

in canada that use the starscanner - winnipeg and Calgary.

unfortunately orthomerica doesn't list all the providers online, only

the starscanner (others would still use casting). I know it would

require travel from BC, but if it is possible you might get better

results with a starband. Also some facilities that have the scanner

use only the Claren helmet which is also passive (I'm pretty sure this

is the case in Seattle). I know a lot of people travel to get a

DOCband from Cranial Tech, and definitely think that is worthwhile.

I realize that getting a second band from another place that is far

away may not be a very reasonable thing to do at this point, but I

wanted to share the information just in case. We were lucky because we

had a very good local ortho who used starband. Also we were lucky

because I started the process with them before I knew how important it

was to get a good ortho.

take care. -christine

sydney 22 mo starband grad

> > >

> > > Hi Jenn

> > >

> > > This is basically how our situation came about:

> > > Around 6 weeks old I noticed the flatness of my son's head and

> > tried

> > > my own repoing without success..

> > > At his 3 month appt. my family doctor noted the flatness, and

> said

> > > to continue with repoing and see how his head looked at 6 months.

> > > At about 18 weeks old I took him back very concerned because

> > despite

> > > repoing his head seemed to look even worse, and I did not want to

> > > wait until his 6 month appt.

> > > My doctor said that my concerns were cosmetic, but knowing how

> > > concerned I was he said he would have my son referred to

> Children's

> > > Hospital for further diagnosis.

> > > I waited a couple weeks, had no call from Children's, called my

> > > doctor's office, and they said if I hadn't neard in one month

> from

> > > when they had sent in the request, then I should check back.

> > > Of course a month went by with no call, so I checked with my

> > > doctor's office and they looked into it and I finally received a

> > > call from Children's the following week. Whew.

> > > When the lady from Children's Hospital called she set up an appt.

> > > for about 1 1/2 months later - Nov.19- and also gave me the

> number

> > > for Valley Orthocare. She told me to call them and set up for my

> > son

> > > to have a casting of his head after we left our appt. at

> > Children's,

> > > on the same day.

> > > So these steps were done without any sort of specialist or anyone

> > > besides my family doctor looking at my son's head.

> > > I called Valley Orthocare and they basically set up everything as

> > if

> > > my son for sure was getting a helmet, and if for some reason we

> > > didn't need one we were to cancel everything.

> > > When she told me the cost I was surprised, and I started looking

> > > into our extended healthcare plan. I called them and they said

> they

> > > needed a doctor's note, or referral for the cranial orthotic, and

> a

> > > quote of what material was used to make it. They considered it a

> > > brace if it was made out of metal or rigid plastic, and it would

> be

> > > covered if it was medically necessary.

> > > I called Valley Orthocare, and the lady there very graciously

> faxed

> > > over an estimate letter for the helmet-it is a standard letter

> they

> > > use and just put in your info.

> > > It explains the procedure, what it is made of, and the cost of

> > > providing the helmet.

> > > I then made another appt. with my family doctor, and asked him to

> > > write a prescription or note saying that the helmet was medically

> > > necessary. I think at this point he agreed that this was beyond

> > > cosmetic because the severity of my son's brachy makes his head

> > > really bulge at the sides, and that is what concerns me the most.

> > > I sent everything into our insurance company, along with a letter

> > > from myself, and just found out that it was approved. Our work

> plan

> > > is really good, and covers 100% with no deductible. I have to pay

> > up

> > > front when we take the helmet, and then the plan reimburses me.

> > > I hope our situation helps you. Every case is different I

> > > understand, but it is nice to know that there are others close to

> > > home who are going through the same thing. I feel very

> optimitstic

> > > about everything because I know a helmet will definitely help my

> > > son, and I now that as a parent I did everything I was supposed

> to,

> > > he just has a soft skull, more so than most babies.

> > >

> > > I now sit in limbo awaiting our appt. at Children's Hospital. I

> > will

> > > let you know more once we go.

> > >