Try saying that three times! Our man E has another couple of diagnoses: Torticollis and Plagiocephaly. I like to think that he will have to earn a credential for every diagnosis. He has MANY years of schooling ahead of him at this rate.
Torticollis is characterized by tilting of the head, usually due to tightening of the sternocleidomastoid, or collar/neck muscle. If you notice, Elliott's head is tilted to the right in many of his pictures. We had a physical therapy eval today at TCH. She confirmed our, and the pediatrician's suspicions. How did he develop this? Who knows? Maybe it stemmed from his preferences in the womb, as he was always hanging out on my right side. Torticollis is very common, especially in kiddoes who have spent a span of time in NICU/ CVICU. His prognosis is excellent with intervention. We will be doing execises at home and seeing a physical therapist to work on stretching the neck muscles. The PT also did the Peabody (an assessment of gross motor development). Elliott scored in the average range, which is pretty terrific, considering he was basically out of commission for the first month or so of his life! We are going to work on developing trunk rotation, and stretching his right arm, as well.
The second diagnosis is plagiocephaly, which is characterized by a flattening of the head. Elliott's head is flat on the back right side, secondary to the torticollis. The PT measured his head, and evaluated the measurements according to a set of tolerances. Elliott's degree of plagiocephaly factored into the severe range. I will be honest. This is literally nausea- inducing for me. I am trying to be mindful, but as I play the words over and over in my head, I feel literally nauseated. I am amassed with guilt for not having seen a PT earlier. I should have recognized it was so bad, rather than making excuses. ECI did not send a PT-- despite the Torticollis referral request. I should have pushed it. Anyway, we are seeing a pediatric craniofacial plastic surgeon in the med center next week. I am so glad Mark will be here.
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