It was a cool November morning when David and I woke at 5:30 am and loaded into our car to make the short drive to the Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT. We had our bags packed and had said our good bye to Jeffrey and my parents before going to bed the night before. We arrived to the hospital at 6 am and began our check in procedures for admittance. Today was the day we were going to introduce Nathaniel James Claycomb into the breathing world.
This was going to be the easy delivery because there was no waiting, no questions and most importantly, no false alarms. This was a scheduled c-section and so the doctors were in control, not my body. Everything went as planned and at 8 in the morning, Bubba was born.
He started his life on earth in an unsettled family. Only 4 weeks after being born we packed up our things and moved the family down to Hobe Sound, Florida. It was a good move for David's job but we would not know how important this move would be for our family until about 9 months later.
Upon arriving in Florida my first job as a mommy was to find a doctor for my boys to see. I knew that Jeffrey and Nathaniel both were due their next well visit so this was my primary concern. A man at David's new job recommended his pediatrician so I called and set up appointments with Dr. Bowling. This would be the man who would change our entire family dynamic in a matter of one visit.
When I took Nathaniel for his initial visit with Dr. Bowling the first question he asked me was, "Do you know your child has torticollis and plagiocephaly?" I just stared at him blankly and said, "I have no idea what you are saying to me right now." He went on to explain that it isn't normal for an infant's head to be so prone to one side and to be so misshapen. He told me that infants may not be able to control their head movements however, they should have a full range of motion and that especially with c-sections the head is supposed to be more round instead of football shape. I continued listening to him tell me about treatment options, possible side effects and what I need to do as a first step in treating these issues. I walked away very stressed but relieved that we had a doctor who was willing to give me so much info and help me fix the problems.
Physical Therapy is pretty much the only treatment for the torticollis so we began therapy immediately. I began taking him on the 40 min drive (each way) for time with Mrs. Judy twice a week for half hour sessions. She was amazing with my child. Instantly he took to her and allowed her to stretch him to the point that his little neck muscles would not stretch any more. She was so patient when he needed to stop and have some food and she was always very encouraging to me, seeing how stressed I was about the whole matter. Even when she first evaluated him and recognized how behind he was with his motor skills she told me in a very kind and optimistic fashion. I was so thankful that God had placed a woman like that in our lives.
As for the plagiocephaly our treatment plan would not be as cut and dry as therapy sessions. This would require numerous doctor visits and evaluations before treatment was even an option. We had to have a CT Scan to make sure that the plates in his head were not fused together, we had to have x-rays to make sure that his facial bones were not being effected and we had to allow a month to pass to see if the therapy would help him hold his head into another position which would encourage his development to self-correct the shape issue. After countless hours on the road driving to one specialist after another and waiting in waiting rooms for hours on end we finally moved to the treatment portion of this issue. We had to have a helmet put on Nathaniel to help correct this problem. If we did not, the way his head was shaped would apply pressure to his brain and we would risk permanent brain damage by the time he was 3. Even though this procedure was not covered by insurance there was no question as to what we had to do. In May mom and I drove him to Ft Lauderdale and fitted him for his helmet, which he would wear 23 hours a day for the next 3 1/2 months. We drove 2 hours each way every 2-3 weeks to have the helmet adjusted. Finally, on August 9, we were able to take our last drive to Ft Lauderdale and have the final evaluation completed and drive my child home, helmet free.
During the months of the helmet visits we were also scheduling in our Physical Therapy. From February to August we drove to see Mrs. Judy and week after week I would notice that his improvement seemed to be getting faster and more noticeable until August 17 when she said the words I had been waiting to hear. "Nathaniel is testing on his age level. He can be discharged." Oh I threw out a big WOOOHOOOO and we gave each other looks as if to say, "we did it!" I didn't even know what to say at that point. 7 months of stretching, pulling, encouraging, clapping, and crying had paid off. We had caught Bubba up to his age level and he no longer needed therapy or a helmet! I felt as if 30 pounds had lifted off my shoulders. In the matter of a min my world went from driving to doctors almost every morning of the week to a new freedom I was not used to. My life had just gotten so much easier.
I look back on this experience and see how being in Florida was the only way I could assure the best treatment for my child. I needed my mom and dad to be here on "helmet" days so that Jeffrey didn't have to take the long 6 hour road trips to let his brother see a doctor. If we had not been in Florida I would not have had the doctor tell me right off that intervention was needed. The doctor in CT had missed these symptoms even though they were staring him in the face. I feel so blessed that God placed us where He did and put the people in our lives who were necessary to making this recovery possible. I'm so proud of Nathaniel for fighting his way through all the pain and discomfort and I am proud of myself for staying strong even on the days that I wanted to give up. It was all worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
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