Success - Finally!

[Guest guest]

After 7 months in her helmet, Lily graduated today! Here's our story,

to encourage those of you going through the process.

We recognized at about 2-3 months old that Lily's head didn't seem

round, but were advised to wait and see if it evened out. We tried

some basic repositioning, but I wouldn't say I was aggressive about

it. I just hoped everything would work out. By her 6 month check up

I knew it wasn't getting better and my doctor gladly gave me a

referral to a specialist, but then it took almost 3 months to get in

to see him. By the time we got the helmet, through Hanger, she was

almost 10 months old.

Throughout the decision-making process, I went back and forth about

100 times, and the thought of all the stuff that goes along with the

helmet was overwhelming, but it finally came down to this: Would I

regret later on that I hadn't done everything I could to fix her head?

I wasn't sure, but I didn't want to be on the wrong side of that

answer after it was too late.

Lily adjusted amazingly well to the helmet, with almost no issues,

other than a lot of sweating and a little hair loss. And we quickly

realized that it wasn't much of a lifestyle change after all, with the

exception of all the questions from strangers in the grocery store.

So to make a long story short, she started out with an asymmetry of

17mm, and is now down to 5mm. She had uneven eyes, skewed ears, and

some noticeable forehead bossing. Now her eyes are perfectly aligned,

her ears are mostly even, and her forehead is perfect. So even though

we weren't able to get her head completely rounded out, I feel like we

got what we wanted out of the whole process. To the naked eye, she

looks as symmetrical as any other little girl out there.

And one final success - after 7 months of fighting with the insurance,

they finally approved the helmet! That was an awful process, and I

almost gave up several times, but I knew that if we don't all fight

this, the insurance companies will keep denying other kids. I felt

like I wanted to help pave the way for another family going through this.

So in the end, Lily's helmet was a success in every way, and we are so

happy to be done! I can't stop kissing her sweet smelling head! I

posted her pics, in the L folder, as Lily W before, during, and after.

I hope our story encourages you all. Hang in there - it will be worth it!

Meredith, mom of Lily

Graduate 10/9/08, after 7 months