Appointments, Appointments, and more Appointments!!

Thank y all for keeping up with Judson's journey! For any Cranio Mama that might be going through the journey that we are going through, I hope this post helps calm your fears about the process that you will go through, as well as show you what to expect during the first stages! If i can help a fellow cranio-mom out by providing information, resources, encouragement,  and most of all, pointing them to the ONE who holds the future in His hands, that's what I want to do!!

My Juddy Buddy!!

I know not every child is diagnosed as early as our little man with Craniosynostosis, therefore the timeline of your journey may be different than ours! I think the most important thing to do as a parent is to contact a physician if there are any questions about your child's health. You can never be too careful, you can never be too concerned. If you are questioning your child's head shape or any other abnormality with your baby, its better to be safe than sorry. With craniosynostosis as well as other medical conditions, an earlier diagnosis is better. Also always go with your gut feeling as a parent. If the physician you see does not take your concerns seriously, get a second opinion. 

1. Pediatrician visit: After the initial suspicion that something may be "just not right", see your pediatrician first and explain your concerns. For us, our wonderful pediatrician pointed it out to us the day he was born. 

2. CT scan: the pediatrician will most likely go ahead and order a CT scan of your child's head, to confirm or rule out the diagnosis of Craniosynostosis. (For us, the CT had to be done prior to seeing the neurosurgeon, but I know some families see the surgeon first, who then orders the scan). On the day of the procedure there were no special instructions for our son. We arrived to the local children's hospital, got registered for the procedure, went downstairs to radiology, and had it performed! I was nervous, but the radiology department at children's hospitals do these scans SO often,  they have it down to a science! They had everything set up before we entered the room, I laid Judson on a table, the technician swaddled him snuggly in a blanket, and then positioned his head between 2 soft wedges to keep it still, a lead blanket was placed over his body to protect against radiation (and provide more comfort and security on the table), and the CT was performed! He was able to keep his paci,  I kept my hands on him the whole time, and it literally took less than 2 minutes!! Very easy!! Praise the Lord! We left with a CD of the scan to take to the surgeon.

3. Referral to a pediatric neurosurgeon: In our area there were 2 very prominent surgeons who did this surgery for many many years. People would drive from all over the country to see them. However,  last year the craniofacial/plastic surgeon moved away, which was a bummer for our community! We were originally referred to the neurosurgeon that had been performing these surgeries in our area. We liked him a lot, great doctor, but he did not have a craniofacial/plastic surgeon to work with him yet. I'm sure he would've taken wonderful care of our baby, but the Lord did not give me and my husband peace about going with this practice. We then requested a referral to the pediatric neurosurgery group at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville for a second opinion. As soon as we met with the neurosurgeon, Dr Bonfield, we felt peace and comfort. We REALLY liked him! 

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE NEUROSURGEON CONSULT: 

-Fill out papers about your child

-Present insurance information

-Child will be weighed and measured, like a normal check up

-Physician will physically examine your child's head, review the CT scan images, explain the plan of action to you, and answer any questions you might have!!

***Write down your questions prior to the appointment. ***

Here is a link that also has great questions to think about during your visit with the surgeon: https://www.cappskids.org/faq/

4. Meet with the pediatric plastic surgeon that will be working in your child's surgery:

This appointment is much like the consult with the neurosurgeon, however the areas they cover are slightly different. Questions regarding healing, incisions, scars, wound care, how the skull is reshaped, etc, should be asked during this appointment. 

5. After these appointments, the surgery date should be able to be set! On June 5th we met with the plastic surgeon and set up our surgery date. 

If you don't know our family, we are missionaries to Guatemala and will be moving as soon as Judson has healed from his surgery. We were hoping to get the surgery scheduled in July so that we could leave in early September. However when the scheduler was looking for a date, the surgeons are going to be out of town basically the whole month of July. We were very bummed when she told us the first available date was the second week of August. Then she said.....hold on, we had a cancellation for June 20th, could you do that?? 

JUNE 20TH??? 

THAT'S 2 WEEKS AWAY!!!

Our hearts sank, the sweet scheduling lady took Jackson (Judson's twin) out of the room with her, and let us talk! We knew this is what needed to be done. The Lord gave quick peace and direction.....we booked it. 

 So here we are now, 2 weeks away from surgery...

The Lord's grace has always been suffucient, and we know this time will be no different! 

This is the biggest trial our little family of 6 has been through... and i know in comparison to some,  it is so small!! But I'm thankful that "though my heart aches,  HE makes no mistakes..... it's for my good and for HIS GLORY"!!