Back from Texas! Elden's 2nd helmet.

We are back and settling into our routines again! Our trip to San Antonio was mellow and uneventful. We had thought we might have a day or more to do a few fun things – go to the zoo or take a day trip, however, things like that are difficult with a 2 yr old and 6 mo. old!

Our travel on Sunday, Jan. 11 went fine and we arrived at the house in the late afternoon. The next morning we went to the hospital to have Elden’s head scanned. He was so patient with them measuring his head, putting on the white stocking and taking the scan. Aspen did great too. Darren mentioned that Elden’s head is looking so good. His exact words were “Dr. Jimenez is going to have a cow when he sees this!” We thought that was pretty funny.

The next day (Tuesday) we did not have any appointments and we were hoping to go to the zoo. Poor Aspen woke up with a tummy ache and fever, so we stayed in. The house had several movies, a baby swing and jumper for Elden and some fun riding toys for Aspen. We watched the Sound of Music and a few of the songs are still in my head.

Aspen was feeling better at the end of the day and we decided to go to the mall near the house. She had her first “Build-a-Bear” experience and picked out a cute little camouflage bear. For Pat and I, we went to the Apple store and Aspen played on the computers for a while. She loved this the most and we literally had to carry her out kicking and screaming. Being a devout Mac user, I was so proud. =]

Wednesday, we met with Darren and Blake for the helmet fitting. This helmet is made to “hold” Elden’s head in a few different places. It is a tight fit and comes down lower on his neck and around his ears. It will take a few days for him to get used to it.

Darren and Blake use a mobile “Star Cranial” van that has tools to make adjustments to the helmets. For the final adjustment, we went down with them to the van. They showed us the life size mold of Elden’s head that was made from the scan. Interestingly, all of the helmets are made in Florida. Once the scan is done, it is immediately sent via computer to their facility in Florida, and the helmets are made that same day and shipped out that afternoon. Wow! Dr. Jimenez’ patients are the only ones that get that special treatment (fast turnaround).

We went to have lunch and then back by 2 for our appt. with Dr. Jimenez. It was a craniosynostosis clinic day and there were several other families with babies getting helmets. Some had surgery just days before. As before, Dr. Jimenez had a presence about him. He is always followed by a few residents, and you can tell that all who work for him hold him in the highest regard.

He was very happy with Elden’s progress. He took more photos for the record. We could see from the previous photos in his chart how much Elden’s head had changed. Dr. Jimenez made sure to answer all of my questions and, as before, rested his hand on mine, looked me straight in the eye and made sure I was cool with everything. I really appreciate that – it shows that he cares. He requested a few more adjustments to the helmet and we were on our way.

Our next appt is a few months from now.

Before we left our home town for this trip, we knew a huge snowstorm was coming. As we suspected, when we flew into Phx the next day (Thursday) we were stuck. All roads (and airways!) leading into Flagstaff were closed due to snow. Thankfully our good friends Rob and Amy came to rescue us from the airport and put us up for a few nights. Thank you!!! We were able to fly home on Saturday. Our car was completely buried at the airport and graciously my sister and her husband along with my parents came to help dig us out. Also while we were gone, our neighbors and friends took care of our driveway and all of the shoveling! Whew, what a blessing! We only hope to repay the favors someday.

In addition to the constant gratitude we have for friends and family -- in all areas, especially malls and airports, we also thank God for family restrooms.

One more thing -- While we were gone we received our first email from someone who had found the blog online after her grandson was diagnosed with craniosynostosis. I am so glad she emailed me and I hope we can be a source of comfort for her and her family. We are praying for her grandson and what the next year has in store for him.