second opinion #2

Bill and I took Josiah to Cranial Technologies to see whether they thought he would be a good candidate for the helmet (or DOC Band). In case you're wondering, the DOC Band "helps reshape the baby's head by capturing his brain growth. To capture the growth, the DOC Band applies mild holding pressures to the areas of prominence (such as a high forehead, bumps above the ears, bulging on one side of the head, etc.) and encourages growth in the flattened areas of your child's head" (from Cranial Tech's website). The pic above is what the band looks like, although the shape of it can vary depending on what issues are being corrected. Each band is completely custom-made to fit each child.

They took a bunch of photos of Josiah's head (or mug shots) to help assess the severity of his plagiocephaly. When we actually met for the consultation, they had the photos on hand and it was very stark to see the flatness of his head and how it was causing facial asymmetry. The person we met with at the consultation said that his plagiocephaly was severe and that she highly recommends band treatment since the flatness would only improve minimally on its own without external help. She actually said that his plagiocephaly is so severe that he may need two sequential bands, since each band can handle about 3-4 months of head growth. Her rough estimate was that Josiah's treatment would last 6-8 months, but it all really depends on how quickly his head grows and how malleable his skull still is. Each band costs $3600, which also includes the weekly visits he would have to make for adjustments to the band as his head grows. Cranial Tech has an insurance coordinator who will see if our insurance will cover any of it. But we're also getting a letter from the neurosurgeon we saw earlier this week that will hopefully aid in the process.

We could definitely see God's grace at work in that once again, there was no uncertainty in the prognosis and recommended treatment for our Smiles. Bill's mom has also been incredibly gracious and generous to cover the cost of the band. (THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH, MOM!!!) At this point, we are now 95% sure that we are going to proceed in this direction. The insurance coordinator should call us early this week to talk about whether our insurance will cover it and to set up a first appointment (if we decide we want to proceed). We do have one more second opinion set up, but it's not for another couple of weeks. Depending on how long it takes to get the process started, we may or may not seek this last second opinion. At this point, we know that Josiah's plagiocephaly is severe. We would really just be going to see whether the doc thought the bands were ineffective to help correct his head. Otherwise, we already have 3 different opinions (the physical therapist, the neurosurgeon, and Cranial Tech) all in agreement that this would be the best course of action. We would be so grateful for your prayers for continued wisdom and that the Lord would make it known if this is not what's best for Josiah.