Re: To Band or Not - Thank You, Decision Made!

[Guest guest]

Lily,

Best of luck to you, I don't think you'll ever regret your decision! Please

keep us posted as you go through the various steps and soon you will be the

expert giving advice to the new members here!! *grin*

Marci (Mom to 1/12/00)

[Guest guest]

Lily and :

I just caught up on reading emails and read about your situation. My son

wore a DOC band this summer and we were very happy with the results

(about 95% correction). We started with a ped who said his head was " within

cosmetic norms " and we " should be happy he is so healthy " (he and twin were

born 2 1/2 months early). Not satisfied, I saw the top two specialists in

town and was not satisfied that the local helmet program could offer enough

correction. We learned about Cranial Technologies and sought them out for

help and treatment. We found a specialist in Chicago who would support our

decision to band and the rest is history. 4 1/2 months of

traveling from Cleveland to Chicago was not fun, but I will never regret the

decision to do what we thought was best for .

Above all, this group supports you to do what you feel is right for your

child and your family. That may be to band, helmet or not. Get informed

and do what fits your family the best.

If you are traveling (sounds like flying) please let me know. We did it

pretty affordably (actually I just did my medical expenses of our taxes and

was surprised at how low it was for 10 trips - about $220 per trip).

Luckily our band was paid for 100% so we did not have that worry. Not every

family is so lucky.

If I can offer any travel advice, please let me know. There are some

earlier posts written that I can find, or rewrite it.

Sometimes, making the decision is the hardest part. Now its time to do the

work and figure out the details! And once you know in your heart that you

are doing the best thing for your child, no one will be able to tell you

that you are wrong. We too had family that didn't believe in the DOC band

( " There is NOTHING wrong with his head - why are you putting him through

this????) and I learned to look them straight in the eyes and say that I was

not willing to let him grow up with a physical deformity that I could have

corrected. He was my son and I would go to the ends of the earth for him.

To this day, my pediatrician thinks the treatment was unnecessary. Oh

well, he is lucky to still have my business.

Sorry this is so long - I tend to get wordy when it is something I care

about!! Take care,

Sue Luck

mom to , DOC band graduate.

Cleveland, OH

----- Original Message -----

From: <gpfeiff@...>

<Plagiocephalyegroups>

Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 12:36 PM

Subject: To Band or Not - Thank You, Decision Made!

> Hello,

> For all of you who responded to my request for advice, thank you very

> much for your insights and your support. It's comforting to know

> that we're not alone and so many others have gone through a similar

> situation. This is a great egroup and I'm really glad to have found

> it.

> We took Drew to Cranial Tech for a consultation yesterday. We were a

> little surprised to hear that the technician considered

> Drew " moderate " , not " mild " as we thought, in severity. The reason

> he is considered moderate is that in addition to the flatness, his

> ears are misaligned. He said that as Drew gets older the abnormality

> will appear to lessen, but it would never go away and his ears would

> never realign without banding.

> Based on what we learned yesterday, and the information I've gathered

> from this egroup and other websites, we've decided to go ahead with

> the band. As many of you recommended, I'm going with my gut feel. I

> am still hesitant. I don't think I'll feel completely comfortable

> until we get the band and Drew adjusts to it. I'm very worried that

> he won't like it. But I know if we don't do this, I will continue to

> worry for his well-being as he gets older. So, we go in for casting

> tomorrow!

> My husband is very supportive, unfortunately, the rest of my family

> is still pretty lukewarm to the idea. Hopefully, as one of you

> mentioned, they'll come around after we get the band and start seeing

> changes.

> Thanks again for your help. If you have any additional words of

> wisdom, things we should be aware of prior to casting/banding, please

> let me know. If you'd like to email me directly, we're at

> gpfeiff@...

>

> Regards,

> Lily

>

>

>

>