Craniofacial Acceptance Month
September is Craniofacial Acceptance Month! Please take some time this month to learn about some craniofacial conditions and teach your children about acceptance! Our family was thrown into this craniofacial world, and I have to admit that I did not know much about any of these conditions. Baby J was diagnosed at 2 months old with Sagittal Craniosynostosis. With the diagnosis came fear, frustration, anger, sadness, and a whole bunch of new friends.
As a new parent, I thought the difficult part of living with a newborn would be sleepless nights and dirty diapers. But that was nothing compared to a doctor telling us that our baby would need surgery. Craniosynostosis affects about 1 in every 2000 babies. The bones in a baby's skull are all separated by sutures, and do not fuse together until much later in life. Craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of one or more sutures, which causes the baby's head to grow in an abnormal shape, and does not allow for proper formation of the brain. So at 3 months old, my baby boy had surgery to remove this fused section of bone. He then wore a corrective helmet for 6 weeks to help shape his head. That has been our journey in the Cranio World.
Little J is now 5 months post-op. We saw his neurosurgeon today for a follow up, and I am very pleased to report that the doctor is very happy with his head shape. The bone is not growing back together, and there are no signs of any pressure on the brain. He is developmentally on target and is doing fantastic! When J was diagnosed, I met wonderful people who have been through the exact same thing with their children. Many of them mailed goodies for baby J, like stuffed animals, hats, and care packages for the hospital. One of these groups, the Cranio Care Bears, sent a lovely chain of ribbons with prayers and quotes written on them to hang on J's hospital crib. Here was my favorite:
As a new parent, I thought the difficult part of living with a newborn would be sleepless nights and dirty diapers. But that was nothing compared to a doctor telling us that our baby would need surgery. Craniosynostosis affects about 1 in every 2000 babies. The bones in a baby's skull are all separated by sutures, and do not fuse together until much later in life. Craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of one or more sutures, which causes the baby's head to grow in an abnormal shape, and does not allow for proper formation of the brain. So at 3 months old, my baby boy had surgery to remove this fused section of bone. He then wore a corrective helmet for 6 weeks to help shape his head. That has been our journey in the Cranio World.
Little J is now 5 months post-op. We saw his neurosurgeon today for a follow up, and I am very pleased to report that the doctor is very happy with his head shape. The bone is not growing back together, and there are no signs of any pressure on the brain. He is developmentally on target and is doing fantastic! When J was diagnosed, I met wonderful people who have been through the exact same thing with their children. Many of them mailed goodies for baby J, like stuffed animals, hats, and care packages for the hospital. One of these groups, the Cranio Care Bears, sent a lovely chain of ribbons with prayers and quotes written on them to hang on J's hospital crib. Here was my favorite:
"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."
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