Decision made

Even though we don't feel Finn's mis-shapen head (plagiocephaly) is severe, we have decided to go ahead with the CranioCap for Finn. It COULD get better on its own as his head gets bigger and it COULD become completely unnoticeable once his hair grows in. But we won't know that until it is too late to do something about it. So for us it really boiled down to these factors.

1. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Lets say he is 16, is self conscious about it and wants to do something then...he can't. Any corrective measures have to be taken now or nothing can be done later.

2. No harm, no foul. It is a non-invasive procedure that will cause him no pain or discomfort but will potentially correct something that could cause him concern in the future.

3. Hair today, gone tomorrow. If he were to ever go bald later in life (sure Jim and both of our dads have full heads of hair, but baldness runs in both of our families), it could be a big embarrassment for which there is no solution.

4. Gets worse before it...gets worse? Because Finn is still not sitting independently and spends a lot of time on his back, our fear is that it could continue to worsen and the cap would at the very least prevent that (and hopefully make it better).

5. Show me the money. Between our insurance and MA, we are fairly certain that the expense is covered and there will be no out-of-pocket expense for the device and subsequent follow up care.

6. To decide or not to decide. In the past, we have felt like we have made "wrong" decisions based on misinformation or indecision or lack of trusting our instincts or whatever it was at the time. Regardless, we don't want to look back at any point in the future and wish we had done it.

Now we have to make an appointment for the inital scan of his head so they can start making the cap. Once it is made, we will have to go back in for a visit so it can be custom fit to Finn's head. The nurse I talked to yesterday thought the whole process would take about three weeks, give or take. The doctor thought Finn would need to wear it for about 3 months. On the bright side, it is winter and if we are uncomfortable with people looking at him (not that Finn would have any idea of why they were looking or even that he goes out very often), we can always stick on his stocking hat! Jim is hoping to be able to put Gophers on it. Not sure how that works!