Santi's Starband Helmet

Today we went to pick up Santiago's helmet. Wearing this Starband helmet is a very important part of fixing the craniosynostosis. Dr. T says that the helmet is just as important as the surgery. So today we are beginning the second part of our journey. Tomorrow will be three weeks since surgery and Santi has been healing nicely. He still has stitches in both incisions on his head but they are the dissolvable kind so I am hoping that they will dissappear soon. He has lost a couple already and I am looking forward to the scabs to go away along with the stitches so the outside of Santi's head will finish healing. This helmet will help his skull heal and help shape his head nicely. The plan is to wear the helmet for 2-3 months for 23 hours a day. We have 5 days to build up to the 23 hours. Day 1 consists of wearing the helmet every other hour when he is awake. He does not wear it sleeping for naps or night on the first day.

In the following pictures you can see our first helmet fitting. They put the helmet on Santiago to see how it fits and he had to write on it with a marker in the areas that had to be shaved off in order for the helmet to fit Santi's head correctly. The helmet will apply pressure on the left side of Santiago's head forcing the bones to grow toward the extra space on the right side of his helmet. So it fits a little tighter on the left side than the right. The hole on the top of the helmet allows ventilation as well as extra space where his head needs to round out. The coronal craniosynostosis was on the right side of his head and that is the side that needs shaping. It is truly a miracle that they have found an effective way to fix this problem. I am very thankful for the God-given talents of the doctors!

Here are the two wonderful people who take Santiago and me to our doctor appointments in the medical center. We love Grandma Linda and Grandpa Hector. It nice to have the company and extra arms and ears at our doctor visits. Thanks for all you do for us!