Second Helmet Scan

Our specialist wanted another head scan to see just how well Owen’s head is doing, so it was back to Livonia and the laser scanner. I didn’t get a picture of it the first time, so here it is:

Something else I didn’t get the first time was the cute little stocking cap Owen has to wear when getting scanned (of course I couldn’t get a good picture). The black dots are stickers pointing towards his ears so they can align the scanned images:

Laying down in the scanner! Of course this is much, much better than the alternative of plaster casting, but it’s still a bit of a challenge because he has to be very still to get a good scan…which means you have to hold his arms (so they don’t fly up and get in the scan) and try to get him to not move. Of course, he would be perfectly still…until the motor started whirring, then he’d twist his head to look at it (which made for a very interesting scan!). I think it took about six tries (scans) this time to get a workable one.

A comparison of the first scan (left, with the cute frowny face!) and the second scan (the bigger head on the right). From the size difference, you can see right away how much his head has grown—and the numbers definitely proved just how much his head had changed shape for the better. Before, the critical measurements were off by centimeters (plural!) and now they’re down to tenths of a centimeter! (If you are looking really closely at the scan and see that the back of his head still looks flat—it isn’t. I asked about it, and it’s “flat” because that’s the tiny spot where his head was laying on the glass.)

After only wearing the helmet for 1.5 months, the specialist is THRILLED with the progress. He is guessing that in a few weeks, if we are all happy with the results, we can go to just wearing the helmet at night!

Go, Owen! Or, should it be: GO, OWEN’S HEAD!? 😀