Re: New Front Page Star - AMELIA

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

Where to start? Well, when Amelia was 4 months old, I noticed that her head was a little flat on the right side. I brought this up to the doctor who recommended that we wait until her 6 month appointment to see if it got any better, but in the meantime to try and keep her off of that side. I switched the direction in which I laid her down in her crib, and tried more tummy time. When I took Amelia in for her 6 month appointment, right away the doctor noticed that she had some facial assymetry and the flat side. He recommended that we call and set up a consult with Cranial Tech in Austin. The doctor informed us that since we are military, we would have a next to nothing chance of Tricare paying for her band. He stated that they consider it cosmetic, but that they would pay for her band if she were to have surgery first to correct the flatness. We called up Cranial Tech, after much discussion, and set up the evaluation. Everyone in that office was awesome! So friendly, not pushy at all. We were told that Amelia had 13 mm of assymetry and this could be corrected with the band. Once again, we were informed that Tricare would not pay for the band. My husband and I discussed in length what we should do. Should we go ahead and pay out of pocket? What would life be like with a daughter in a band? Would people stare, would they be rude? Would Amelia hate us for doing this to her? And the one of the biggest, with him deploying soon, how would she (and I) do with the 1 hr drive to and from Austin every week?

We decided to go ahead and band. We figured that we would go ahead and appeal the decision and fight for reimbursement. We set up the casting appointment and were ready to go! Amelia received her band 3 days before my husband deployed. She did great! All those worries were for nothing. She slept well with no problem. She didn't even seem to notice it was there. My husband decorated her band before he left and it came out beautiful! We drove up to Austin every week for about a month, then her appointments went to once every other week. She did great! Towards the end there didn't seem to be much improvement, she had outgrown the band. So after 15 weeks, it was time to say goodbye to the smelly headgear. I was actually a little sad to see it go. I was so used to seeing my baby girl with her adorable band on it. We did the exit cast, then were on our way. Amelia finished up with 4 mm of asymmetry, she did wonderful.

Oh, I forgot to mention the part about finding this group! Let me tell you, what a blessing it was and still is to be a part of such a wonderful group of parents. I got on here in tears when we were considering banding. Everyone was so helpful and understanding, you all helped me get through. I can't say thank you enough for all of the support. If you are reading this and wondering, "Should we do it?", I would say YES, go for it!! It is totally worth it. The kids adapt so easily, it's amazing! I think it's so much harder on us than them. In the end, it's so great to look at the before and after pictures and see what improvement there has been, and to know that you did what was best for your child.

So sorry for the long post. Thank you again for all the support!

What a blessing!

Toni

Killeen, Texas

Mom to Amelia (14 months); DOC Band grad 2/22/08

New Front Page Star - AMELIA

Hello all-Please welcome our newest front page star, Amelia! If Amelia's mom is still with us, please share her plagio story with us. Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Hi Toni-

Thanks for sharing your story! I'm so glad to hear of Amelia's

success and I'm sure you're loving her nice round head! I'm also

glad that you're still hanging around the board. I'm sure other moms

and dads appreciate your advice and support as much as you did

throughout the banding process. Take care!

Jake-21m (tort resolved/rt plagio/DOCBand #2 4 weeks)

Jordan-4

>

> Hi everyone!

> Where to start? Well, when Amelia was 4 months old, I noticed

that her head was a little flat on the right side. I brought this

up to the doctor who recommended that we wait until her 6 month

appointment to see if it got any better, but in the meantime to try

and keep her off of that side. I switched the direction in which I

laid her down in her crib, and tried more tummy time. When I took

Amelia in for her 6 month appointment, right away the doctor noticed

that she had some facial assymetry and the flat side. He

recommended that we call and set up a consult with Cranial Tech in

Austin. The doctor informed us that since we are military, we would

have a next to nothing chance of Tricare paying for her band. He

stated that they consider it cosmetic, but that they would pay for

her band if she were to have surgery first to correct the flatness.

We called up Cranial Tech, after much discussion, and set up the

evaluation. Everyone in that office was awesome! So friendly, not

pushy at all. We were told that Amelia had 13 mm of assymetry and

this could be corrected with the band. Once again, we were informed

that Tricare would not pay for the band. My husband and I discussed

in length what we should do. Should we go ahead and pay out of

pocket? What would life be like with a daughter in a band? Would

people stare, would they be rude? Would Amelia hate us for doing

this to her? And the one of the biggest, with him deploying soon,

how would she (and I) do with the 1 hr drive to and from Austin

every week?

> We decided to go ahead and band. We figured that we would go

ahead and appeal the decision and fight for reimbursement. We set

up the casting appointment and were ready to go! Amelia received

her band 3 days before my husband deployed. She did great! All

those worries were for nothing. She slept well with no problem.

She didn't even seem to notice it was there. My husband decorated

her band before he left and it came out beautiful! We drove up to

Austin every week for about a month, then her appointments went to

once every other week. She did great! Towards the end there didn't

seem to be much improvement, she had outgrown the band. So after 15

weeks, it was time to say goodbye to the smelly headgear. I was

actually a little sad to see it go. I was so used to seeing my baby

girl with her adorable band on it. We did the exit cast, then were

on our way. Amelia finished up with 4 mm of asymmetry, she did

wonderful.

> Oh, I forgot to mention the part about finding this group! Let me

tell you, what a blessing it was and still is to be a part of such a

wonderful group of parents. I got on here in tears when we were

considering banding. Everyone was so helpful and understanding, you

all helped me get through. I can't say thank you enough for all of

the support. If you are reading this and wondering, " Should we do

it? " , I would say YES, go for it!! It is totally worth it. The

kids adapt so easily, it's amazing! I think it's so much harder on

us than them. In the end, it's so great to look at the before and

after pictures and see what improvement there has been, and to know

that you did what was best for your child.

> So sorry for the long post. Thank you again for all the support!

> What a blessing!

>

> Toni

> Killeen, Texas

> Mom to Amelia (14 months); DOC Band grad 2/22/08

>

> New Front Page Star - AMELIA

>

>

> Hello all-

> Please welcome our newest front page star, Amelia! If Amelia's

mom is

> still with us, please share her plagio story with us.

>

> Thanks!

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hey Toni -

My name is Toni and I have a daughter named Amylia. Isn't that weird? We are also in the military and my daughter also has plegiocephaly. She is now 7 mos old and her doctor confirms the diagnosis but doesn't want to refer us. He believes her head will get better. I am going to wait until 9 mos and then have her rechecked...it does seem better than it did at 3 mos when I noticed it but I don't want her to go through life with an odd shaped head. I want her head and face to be beautiful.

I am glad to hear that Amelia's treatment was successful.

Toni

From: and Toni <pattee9@...>Subject: Re: New Front Page Star - AMELIAPlagiocephaly Date: Monday, June 30, 2008, 10:33 PM

Hi everyone!

Where to start? Well, when Amelia was 4 months old, I noticed that her head was a little flat on the right side. I brought this up to the doctor who recommended that we wait until her 6 month appointment to see if it got any better, but in the meantime to try and keep her off of that side. I switched the direction in which I laid her down in her crib, and tried more tummy time. When I took Amelia in for her 6 month appointment, right away the doctor noticed that she had some facial assymetry and the flat side. He recommended that we call and set up a consult with Cranial Tech in Austin. The doctor informed us that since we are military, we would have a next to nothing chance of Tricare paying for her band. He stated that they consider it cosmetic, but that they would pay for her band if she were to have surgery first to correct the flatness. We called up Cranial Tech, after much

discussion, and set up the evaluation. Everyone in that office was awesome! So friendly, not pushy at all. We were told that Amelia had 13 mm of assymetry and this could be corrected with the band. Once again, we were informed that Tricare would not pay for the band. My husband and I discussed in length what we should do. Should we go ahead and pay out of pocket? What would life be like with a daughter in a band? Would people stare, would they be rude? Would Amelia hate us for doing this to her? And the one of the biggest, with him deploying soon, how would she (and I) do with the 1 hr drive to and from Austin every week?

We decided to go ahead and band. We figured that we would go ahead and appeal the decision and fight for reimbursement. We set up the casting appointment and were ready to go! Amelia received her band 3 days before my husband deployed. She did great! All those worries were for nothing. She slept well with no problem. She didn't even seem to notice it was there. My husband decorated her band before he left and it came out beautiful! We drove up to Austin every week for about a month, then her appointments went to once every other week. She did great! Towards the end there didn't seem to be much improvement, she had outgrown the band. So after 15 weeks, it was time to say goodbye to the smelly headgear. I was actually a little sad to see it go. I was so used to seeing my baby girl with her adorable band on it. We did the exit cast, then were on

our way. Amelia finished up with 4 mm of asymmetry, she did wonderful.

Oh, I forgot to mention the part about finding this group! Let me tell you, what a blessing it was and still is to be a part of such a wonderful group of parents. I got on here in tears when we were considering banding. Everyone was so helpful and understanding, you all helped me get through. I can't say thank you enough for all of the support. If you are reading this and wondering, "Should we do it?", I would say YES, go for it!! It is totally worth it. The kids adapt so easily, it's amazing! I think it's so much harder on us than them. In the end, it's so great to look at the before and after pictures and see what improvement there has been, and to know that you did what was best for your child.

So sorry for the long post. Thank you again for all the support!

What a blessing!

Toni

Killeen, Texas

Mom to Amelia (14 months); DOC Band grad 2/22/08

New Front Page Star - AMELIA

Hello all-Please welcome our newest front page star, Amelia! If Amelia's mom is still with us, please share her plagio story with us. Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Oh my gosh, that is too neat!! Keep pushing that doctor for the referral. I believe you can go to Cranial Tech without a referral for an evaluation. If there's one near you, I would look into that, just to have the numbers. Good luck! Where are you guys stationed at?

Toni

New Front Page Star - AMELIA

Hello all-Please welcome our newest front page star, Amelia! If Amelia's mom is still with us, please share her plagio story with us. Thanks!

[Guest guest]

We are definately going to look into it at around the 9 month mark. I think the closest one is in England. We are currently in Germany so it will be difficult to get there but I will if need be. I didn't want to do it sooner because I wanted to see how her head would do and it is just too hot here for me to even consider it. I know that probably sounds odd for it to be hot in germany but without a/c it is unbearable at times. Germans don't believe in a/c.

toni

From: and Toni <pattee9earthlink (DOT) net>Subject: Re: New Front Page Star - AMELIAPlagiocephalyDate: Monday, June 30, 2008, 10:33 PM

Hi everyone!

Where to start? Well, when Amelia was 4 months old, I noticed that her head was a little flat on the right side. I brought this up to the doctor who recommended that we wait until her 6 month appointment to see if it got any better, but in the meantime to try and keep her off of that side. I switched the direction in which I laid her down in her crib, and tried more tummy time. When I took Amelia in for her 6 month appointment, right away the doctor noticed that she had some facial assymetry and the flat side. He recommended that we call and set up a consult with Cranial Tech in Austin. The doctor informed us that since we are military, we would have a next to nothing chance of Tricare paying for her band. He stated that they consider it cosmetic, but that they would pay for her band if she were to have surgery first to correct the flatness. We called up Cranial Tech, after much

discussion, and set up the evaluation. Everyone in that office was awesome! So friendly, not pushy at all. We were told that Amelia had 13 mm of assymetry and this could be corrected with the band. Once again, we were informed that Tricare would not pay for the band. My husband and I discussed in length what we should do. Should we go ahead and pay out of pocket? What would life be like with a daughter in a band? Would people stare, would they be rude? Would Amelia hate us for doing this to her? And the one of the biggest, with him deploying soon, how would she (and I) do with the 1 hr drive to and from Austin every week?

We decided to go ahead and band. We figured that we would go ahead and appeal the decision and fight for reimbursement. We set up the casting appointment and were ready to go! Amelia received her band 3 days before my husband deployed. She did great! All those worries were for nothing. She slept well with no problem. She didn't even seem to notice it was there. My husband decorated her band before he left and it came out beautiful! We drove up to Austin every week for about a month, then her appointments went to once every other week. She did great! Towards the end there didn't seem to be much improvement, she had outgrown the band. So after 15 weeks, it was time to say goodbye to the smelly headgear. I was actually a little sad to see it go. I was so used to seeing my baby girl with her adorable band on it. We did the exit cast, then were on

our way. Amelia finished up with 4 mm of asymmetry, she did wonderful.

Oh, I forgot to mention the part about finding this group! Let me tell you, what a blessing it was and still is to be a part of such a wonderful group of parents. I got on here in tears when we were considering banding. Everyone was so helpful and understanding, you all helped me get through. I can't say thank you enough for all of the support. If you are reading this and wondering, "Should we do it?", I would say YES, go for it!! It is totally worth it. The kids adapt so easily, it's amazing! I think it's so much harder on us than them. In the end, it's so great to look at the before and after pictures and see what improvement there has been, and to know that you did what was best for your child.

So sorry for the long post. Thank you again for all the support!

What a blessing!

Toni

Killeen, Texas

Mom to Amelia (14 months); DOC Band grad 2/22/08

New Front Page Star - AMELIA

Hello all-Please welcome our newest front page star, Amelia! If Amelia's mom is still with us, please share her plagio story with us. Thanks!