Joshua's Skull

Joshua's head started looking a little odd when he was about 4 weeks old. His right side was lower than his left and you could tell his skull was not even. So at his two month visit, the doc noticed it right away and ordered a CT scan. He explained that if the skull had fused, Joshua would need corrective surgery. Apparently the skull is not supposed to fuse until a baby is much older. But the doc also said that Joshua had a really good soft spot, which is usually an indication that the skull has not fused yet. So we scheduled the scan and asked our family to pray for Joshua. It made me a little nervous to think of him having a CT scan. I don't know anyone who's had one. But overall, we were not too stressed about it because the doctor seemed pretty confident that it would be okay.

And then I talked to someone who's nephew had this condition. His skull had fused too early and was affecting his brain development. And she told me all about how they had to BREAK his skull in an 8 hour surgery which then required a very long recovery and a fear that if he fell, his bones would shatter and kill him.

Not exactly the kind of thing you want to hear. And exactly the kind of thing that magnified my anxiety 100 fold. So I started doing a little research cuz knowledge is power, right? Well, I found out that there are two other surgical options, both of which are MUCH less invasive and not life threatening. Whew!

Yesterday was his CT. It went fairly smooth. He had to be sedated because you can't move for a full minute and no way you can get an infant to stay still. But because he had to be sedated, he had to be hooked up to monitors. A monitor to check his breathing, one to check his heart rate, and one to check his blood pressure. And he had to have an IV. It all made it seem like such a big deal! It made me sad to see him hooked up and drugged! We couldn't watch the scan due to the amount of radiation that was involved but we were told that Joshua kept hiccuping. So much for sedation! But they got some good images and 20 minutes later he was waking up and we were told that his skull looks fine. We had to wait to get the doctor's final say the next day but he said the same thing. His skull has not fused. We need to work on some neck and head exercises with him which should help the appearance of his head. If that doesn't work, he may need a helmet, but not a big deal. My baby is just fine!

We are so grateful that he doesn't need surgery. And we are so grateful for everyone's prayers. Prayer works :)