Monday, June 30, 2008

Alternative treatment

At about two months, Baby K developed a definite flat-spot on the back of her head medically referred to as positional plagiocephaly. She was referred to the plagiocephaly clinic at the children's hospital and given an appointment time for the end of May. During the appointment, she saw a nurse practitioner who rated the severity of her misshapen head and prescribed a helmet to correct the issue. She would be required to wear the helmet for six months starting immediately if desired and would be seen every two weeks so that adjustments to the helmet could be made at the rehab center. Adjustments meaning moving the helmet padding to accommodate the change and growth of her skull in the places desired. The expected wear time per day was 23 hours with removal for bathing time only.
While awaiting the initial appointment date, a new friend from our church mentioned a doctor who had helped their daughter with the same problem fifteen years ago. She provided his name, Dr. Robert Kidd but was not sure if he was still practicing. I quickly located his practice on the web and decided to give his office a call. I left a brief message explaining the nature of my call and within 24 hours had received a call back offering an appointment time in three weeks time. That was the beginning of May and Baby K has now seen Dr. Kidd seven times for a weekly manipulation of her head. He performs craniosacral therapy also called, cranial osteopathy in which he cradles her little head in his hands positioning his fingers usually along the side behind her ears and to outside appearances he seems to be just holding her head. But from his description, by sensing the rhythmic motions of her body and head he is moving the bones in her skull to the desired location. He has also described his manipulation as stretching the membrane separating the halves of the brain so as to elongate it and restore the head's shape. He is very gentle and careful in his handling and Baby K appears to be comfortable with the treatment. How long will this manipulation be necessary before the head is restored to its original shape? A year perhaps. At this time we have opted not to have her fitted with the helmet but to continue with Dr. Kidd's weekly manipulations. We can do both treatments simultaneously but that would mean a lot more appointments and driving as both offices are at least 45 minutes from our home.

Need

We are now six months into Baby K's therapies and treatments and one salient thought has pushed its way to the forefront of my mind as I interact with her therapists and hear their struggles in dealing with diagnoses and behavioral issues of small children.
Parents need the gospel.
Nothing will change their children like the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Children need to know that sin is their most consistent problem and the most consistently productive treatment is a life spent loving Christ and others.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Recently discussed

"If we had a hundred dollars, we'd be rich."

And on an unrelated topic, this comment:
"Yeah, you'd be dead for life."

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Out

This is the indoor/outdoor restaurant that a friend and I had lunch at yesterday. It is in downtown Ottawa, Byward market area. I was standing amongst the cafe tables on the sidewalk patio when I took this shot of our table. There are no windows as you can see. Fun.

Thank you Gerda for a wonderful time together.

Helping Mom


Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Photo Flashback


Our son standing with his Sunday School class for the last time before we left New Brunswick to move to Ontario. He would be almost three in this picture. We dearly miss that church family and look forward to seeing them in August.