We Must Help When We Are Able

"My 6 month old son Baby J, as my three year old son named him before he was born, has been diagnosed with Positional Plagiocephaly. This is a positional skull deformity causing the backside of his head to be misshapen.

He will be seeing his Neurosurgeon in two weeks and fitted for a helmet from the Star Cranial Center http://www.starcranialcenter.com that he will wear for at least 6 months from what I currently understand.

This treatment is something that Baby J must have NOW as he is 6 months old to correct his skull. If we wait any longer the skull will have hardened and the treatment cannot be performed.

Although Plagiocephaly can affect developmental skills, vision, and alignment of jaws and facial features, our insurance company considers the condition a “cosmetic issue” and has opted NOT TO COVER Baby J’s treatment.

It floors me that an insurance company would consider the shape of a baby’s head a “cosmetic procedure” and not pay for a helmet that would allow my son to have a normal shaped head. I can understand if you have a teenager that wants braces that would be “cosmetic” but my 6 month old cannot talk and tell me he wants a helmet to correct his flat head so he does not suffer potential ridicule from other children or worse suffer developmental problems that can occur later in his life from this problem.

A cosmetic treatment would alter a normal looking appearance. Therapy with a cranial molding helmet/band in my opinion would be reconstructive, thereby normalizing the appearance of the anomalous head shape.

The cost of treatment for this condition right now is estimated at approximately $8000.00. The helmet alone is $3800.00 and it is considered medical equipment and will have to be PAID IN FULL.

My husband and I will have to pay this out of pocket as Baby J must have this treatment NOW! Currently we do not have the money and the Doctors will not accept payments.

Many people solicit money on the Internet for a variety of causes so I decided to pitch mine…

Please help us pay for Baby J’s treatment by:

Visiting my Etsy shop www.rayvenwoodmanor.etsy.com and make a PURCHASE. The full amount of your purchase will go directly to Baby J’s care.

I am thanking all of you who plan to make a purchase in advance.

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UPDATE:

Some of my wonderful friends are also offering special deals on items in their Etsy shops and some of the proceeds will go to help Baby J....please check out their shops if you would like to!

Fabfaeires on Etsy is offering FREE Fairy Hair for an $8.00 donation at:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/97401593/free-fairy-hair-make-a-donation-thru

3Giraffes Clothing Inc. is offering a portion of any sale to help Baby J so please check out her lovely shops!

www.facebook.com/3GiraffesClothing
http://www.etsy.com/shop/3GiraffesInc

This week if you shop at my dear friend's Etsy shop Mazzy Blue Studios 100% of any purchase will go to Baby J!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MazzyBlueStudios

This original from Mazzy Blue is up for sale also for Baby J extending after this week.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/94607992/climb-the-trees-to-touch-the-sky

Our son is so fortunate to have such wonderful people helping him. Our family appreciates all of you so much! We cannot wait to post pictures of Baby J sporting his new helmet and of course eventually his nice round head:)

Read about Plagiocephaly here:

Plagiocephaly is a condition that causes a baby's head to have a flat spot (flat head syndrome) or be misshapen.

The most common form is called “Positional Plagiocephaly” or “positional skull deformity”. It occurs when a baby's head develops a flat spot due to pressure on that area either contributed to the baby’s position in the uterus or sleep position after birth. Babies are vulnerable because their skull is soft and pliable when they're born.

Babies can develop Positional Plagiocephaly when movement in the uterus is constricted for some reason – because their mother is carrying more than one baby, for example. It can also happen to breech babies who get wedged under their mother's ribs.

Starting in the early 1990s, parents were told to put their babies to sleep on their back to reduce the risk of SIDS. While this advice has saved thousands of babies' lives, experts have noticed a fivefold increase in misshapen heads since then.

The 1994 campaign known as the "Back to sleep" which encouraged parents to keep their infants on their backs while sleeping instead of their front is the main cause of Plagiocephaly, as this means that an infant will spend more time on the back of their head, increasing pressure to the area. Since the back to sleep campaign came around in 1994, the increase in Plagiocephaly has risen by 600%, but has lowered SIDS by 80%.

Another type of Plagiocephaly is Craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the joints between the bones of the skull close early. Babies born with Craniosynostosis need surgery to allow their brain to grow properly.

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We Must Help When We Are Able