Plagiocephaly, a word I've never heard before in my life and could barely pronounce. Until I was told by my pediatrician that my son has this. Now, reading the medical term it sounds pretty horrible, so before anybody worries too much, it just means that he has a mishapen head. Our poor, beautiful boy has something wrong with him. I'm a mom now and that means everything is somehow my fault. I've been racking my brain for about two weeks now trying to figure out what went wrong and what I should have done differently. The truth is, I don't think anything would have changed it. One of the top two reasons for plagioncephaly is spending too long in the birth canal. I was in labor for 28 hours (give or take) and he came out with a very coned head. It had gone down, but still one side on the back was flat and one side on the front was sunken in. Actually, until we saw the specialist, we thought that one side was out too far, in all actuality it is the opposite side isn't out far enough.
So where do we go from here? Pretty much we're on hold with a speciailist. Austin needs what is called a cranial band, but insurances sometimes consider them cosmectic proceedures and won't cover them. They are putting the well being of my child in the same category as a nose job or breast implant, thanks insurance companies. Once we get a yay or nay, we can move forward. Regardless we will be getting one, but we will have to pay out of pocket an enourmous amount of money. Thankfully we have some great family that has offered to help in any way they can. Austin will probably wear the band (I prefer band instead of helmet) for 2-4 months. I'm hoping more of the two month line, but since it is pretty bad it'll probably be longer than that. The goal is to get a difference of about 6 mms from each side. Our bodies are not symetrical, so it'll never be a 0. 6 and under is considered normal. Right now Austin is 17 mms different.
I'm getting used to the idea. I know this is for him and it is to prevent possible issues with his brain growth. I'm worried though. Worried that people will stare, think he has some type of disability, or make funny comments. I know they wouldn't mean any harm, but even the thought of, "Hey at least he's getting ready to play football," makes me cry right now. I've cried a lot about this entire situation, so I'm trying to be strong. I know it may seem selfish to an extent, but I hope to keep him out of the lime light while he is wearing the band. The truth is, I don't think people will say much, I just think they'll ask questions. At this point I'm not ready to answer questions and I don't know how soon I will be. I've never liked to be the center of attention, which I'm afraid this experience will make us.
Below are some pictures of Austin's head, it is a little difficult to tell, but if you look straight on you can see that it always looks like his head is turned one way and it isn't. Plagiocephaly.... :(
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| Right side, back of his head is a little flat as is the left front side. |
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| That isn't the couch flattening his head. |
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| He's still my perfect, handsome little boy |
