Since the last post, Keegan was seen by Dr. Joganic, the Craniofacial Plastic Surgeon. We waited nearly an hour in the room. Finally, he showed up and seemed to have a busy day on his plate full of unexpected time in the OR. He checked Keegan's head and took a few measurements. Their goal for the surgery was to have an index of .75 (he initially had .65). When Dr. Joganic measured it nearly 3 weeks after it was at .749. I'd say that is pretty good =) He also addressed Keegan's forehead shape before I even had a chance to ask. He explained that he still has frontal bossing but the surgery should correct it over time. The points of the basketball shaped ellipses go down to his brow line on his forehead and they cut a triangle on the sides near his ears to angle the forehead back. That means as the head continues to grow it will start angling back and flatten out. I found this comforting to know that he noticed his frontal bossing right away and answered the question before I had to address it. He was not the most "sociall inclined" (read: very akward) but at least he is amazing at what he does. Dr. Shafron on the other hand is amazing with kids and very personable. Both surgeons will want to see Keegan back in 3 months.
Tammi, my older sister, had called Friday evening to tell me that there was a show on Discovery Health. I had missed the early evening showing but was able to catch it at midnight. It was based on 2 twin 4 year old boys who had sagittal craniosynostosis which is what Keegan has. Seeing how Keegan's head may have looked in a few years really reassured me with the whole surgery decision. Also, the boys complained of massive headaches. The whole procedure was shown and it was hard to watch but I wanted to see what Keegan went through. The surgeons made it seem like such a simple task; yet, you could tell by watching that it took a certain type of brain to do what they do. I am very thankful for science and the medical field improvements that allow them to do what they do. The show was called Surgery: before and After Radical Renewal aired on June 11, 2010. I cant find it online to share, unfortunately. One thing I didnt know before was that the absorbable plates will dissolve in the first year and break down into water and carbon dioxide. I found this picture online to show what they look like:
Saturday was filled with errands gearing up for our LONG road trip back to Great Falls. PJ had to get back to work so Keegan, Cooper and THANKFULLY my dad rode back with me from Chandler, AZ to Great Falls, MT via Ogden, UT. But before we took off, Ashley came home from college at Stanford and we celebrated with a mexican dinner made by the one and only mamasita (read: my mom who we think is part mexican). Tammi, Bronson, Caden and Brittyn joined us along with Ashley's boyfriend Nolan. Later that night (errrr morning) I packed and did my homework for my masters classes until 2am. My alarm went off at 5:30am and we hit the road around 6:15am, dropping Ashley off at the airport on the way. We traveled to Ogden, UT on the first day and stayed with Wayne and Zee who are friends of PJ's family. They knew them from when PJ's dad was flying in the Air Force. They were very hospitable and fed us dinner when we got into town around 6:30pm. Keegan and Cooper did amazing on the car ride, although Keegan only slept a total of 1 hour during the 11 hour car ride. Cooper on the other hand, slept nearly the entire time. We hit the road at 9:30am on Monday morning and arrived home at 5:30pm. We saw many antelope along the way. Again, Keegan and Cooper did really well. We are all glad to be home and sleeping in our own beds.
We plan on scheduling an appointment with our pediatrician, who at this time, we have decided to stay with. We really liked her and will try to raise awareness of craniosynostosis as not many have experience with this. We will advocate for our child now and may even have to make a few urgent care visits when Dr. Mesnick is working (she discovered Keegans Cranio!). We owe her a big thanks for catching this. Keegan is past due for his 1 yr vaccinations and we need to contact immunizations department to make sure we wait long enough after the surgery.
Please check the link on the other page as I have added 2 very interesting videos I found on Youtube on Keegan's condition.
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