11毫米. 非常小，对吧?? When Kathryn Vigness learned her son James’ head had grown 11 millimeters in just two weeks, 她知道她和她的丈夫, 亚伦, 做出了正确的决定.
“Seeing the results confirmed we did the right thing, and it eliminated any doubt I had,” she said. “His helmet was truly making a dramatic difference.”
平坦的地方
A healthy seven-pound, twelve-ounce bundle of joy, James was born September 1, 2010. During his four-month well-baby check, Kathryn discussed concerns with pediatric 护士Andrea Riendeau 詹姆斯的头的形状.
“It was flat in spots,凯瑟琳说. “I noticed it before but thought his head would fill out on its own. He continued to grow, but so did the flat spots.”
安德里亚也注意到了, and referred Kathryn and James to Steve Sattler, 合格的矫形师, in Altru的假肢和矫形器 进一步评估部门.
“Steve took a very thorough history of my pregnancy and birthing process,凯瑟琳说. “Because I carried James transversely, 他侧身躺着, with his head nestled in my hip until the 37th week. 他在39周时出生, 经过30个小时的分娩, so there really wasn’t a lot of time for his head shape to correct itself.”
Correcting the flat spots was now up to Steve.
明星扫描仪
In 2007, thanks to generous donor gifts, 奥特鲁健康基金会 provided funds for the purchase of a STARscanner™. The scanner acquires accurate head shape data for cranial shaping helmets. Previously, plaster molds were used, which were messy and time-consuming. 使用STARscanner™, all necessary data is gathered in just two seconds and transferred electronically to Orthomerica, the company that makes the helmets. About two weeks later, the helmet is back to Steve and the first fitting takes place.
“Not many things we do in prosthetics and orthotics can be considered a ‘cure,’ but this is about as close as we can get,史蒂夫说。. As of March 1, 2013, more than 626 children have been fitted for helmets.
“Steve was wonderful to work with, as was the entire department,凯瑟琳说. “他们会成为你的啦啦队长. They see the progress week after week and are excited for it to continue.”
“The fact that they come back so frequently makes it seem like they belong with us,史蒂夫说。 of the children and families with whom he works.
James saw Steve every four weeks for adjustments. Parts of James’ helmet were chiseled out to accommodate new growth. 2011年5月, having worn the helmet 23 hours each day for four months, 詹姆斯的头的形状很合适.
“James was great before, and he’s great now, just with a more symmetrical head,凯瑟琳说.
过去的耻辱
Looking back, Kathryn said the initial helmet recommendation was harder on her than on James.
“I had reservations when we first learned this was our path,” she said. “我必须摆脱这种耻辱. I didn’t want people to see James and think there was a problem because he wore a helmet. My fears melted away when we heard, ‘Look at those cute cheeks,’ or ‘Look at those big blue eyes.’ We knew this was the best thing we could do for him.”
头部发育不正常, 包括脸, 耳朵和下巴, is something that can have lifelong effects. 例如, if James wanted to participate in a sport requiring him to wear a helmet, a standard helmet might not have protected his head properly if his head was misshapen.
“That’s when it really hit home,凯瑟琳说. “What good is a football or motorcycle helmet if it doesn’t fit properly?”
“The helmets provide the opportunity to prevent some medical issues from developing,史蒂夫说。. “They also improve a child’s appearance to hopefully eliminate teasing or bullying as they grow up.”
“作为父母, we want to do everything we can for our children now to prevent issues later in life,凯瑟琳说. “Looking back, it was a no brainer for us. James did awesome with the helmet; he took it like a champ. We were very fortunate, too, in that we didn’t have to travel to receive this service. It was so nice to have advocates on our side throughout the whole process.” The STARscanner™ at Altru is the only one in the state of North Dakota.
Now two years old, James doesn’t remember his helmet-wearing days. His little brother, Drew, now one, also wore a helmet from being transverse in the womb.
“It’s what we needed to do,凯瑟琳说, “and I’m so glad we did.”
