Doc Band Mama
Written by: Hanna N.
When I first found out Kaleab was diagnosed with severe Brachycephaly and Plagiocephaly, I was devastated. For those of you who are not familiar with this diagnosis, the fancy words basically mean flat head syndrome. These common head shape abnormalities are caused by a prolonged pressure in the same spot which leads to uneven growth. If it’s left untreated, the cranial misalignment will become permanent. It could potentially cause neck pain (leading to surgical treatment), alter depth perception, cause issues with the ears and may also cause developmental delays.
A little bit of a back story
I had a rough pregnancy with Kaleab. I had symptoms that only less than 1% of women go through, and was severely sick for the first 5 months of pregnancy. Then shortly after giving birth, Kaleab had to be immediately transferred to the Pediatric Unit for phototherapy treatment. He was placed inside the infant incubator. Due to COVID restrictions, I was the only one allowed to stay in the room with him. Kaleab was inside the incubator at all times. I couldn’t hold him when he cried and the amount of times they kept poking his tiny feet to obtain blood was unbearable. I just felt responsible for everything that was happening at that moment, even though it was outside of my control. It took a lot out of me to pull myself out of the dark web of emotions during my postpartum.
So, when I heard this new diagnosis during Kaleab’s 4 month checkup, I was terrified. I blamed myself again thinking, “Omg we’re going to have to go through scans and blood work all over again!”
“Positional plagiocephaly, or “flat head syndrome,” is more common. It occurs in about 50% of children. ”
The trauma and darkness I went through before and after birth started to make me feel anxious about this new diagnosis. To make matters worse, someone close to me blamed me for Kaleab’s conditions indirectly. I will never forget the things they said. “You should’ve watched him more. How could you have not possibly noticed what was happening to him? You could’ve prevented this from happening. What happened to you?” The way the person was speaking to me basically validated how awful of a mother I thought I was to Kaleab.
Focusing on what’s most important
Being Ethiopian, you get judged for everything you do, especially when it comes to your children. Initially, I was told to not follow the medical advice of taking Kaleab to see a specialist because “all doctors want is your money,” which is debatable. I was also told that if I went along with the treatment I shouldn’t tell anyone about it. I should keep it a secret and keep his pictures off of social media. It made me feel like I should be ashamed for no reason at all. As if my child is any less of a human being for wearing a helmet that could potentially improve his health. But, I had to stop listening to the background noise of what the culturally accepted “norm” was and focus on what was important here, Kaleab’s health.
Taking the first steps forward and learning
Before Kaleab’s first appointment with a specialist at Cranial Technologies, I started to do my own research of his conditions and made a list of questions I had. During his first visit, I asked all of the necessary questions. The Physical Therapist was comforting and gave me the statistics of how common and treatable Kaleab’s conditions were. She walked me through the scans (3D imagining) and the steps we needed to take in order to start the Doc Band treatment.
The Doc Band is a noninvasive treatment of helmet therapy. The helmet must be worn 23hrs a day and the treatment could last between 6-16 weeks depending on the severity of the case for each child.
I felt confident about this new journey we were on for Kaleab, but there was something still bothering me personally. I asked the question that every mother thinks about: “Was this my fault? Did I cause this to happen?” There was a brief moment of silence and the PT was shocked that I had to ask this question. She then smiled and said, “Absolutely not mama! You are doing a wonderful job. There are a lot of factors and you are not one of those causes!” I felt relieved.
How it’s going with treatment
Kaleab has been wearing his Doc Band helmet for almost a month now. I see major improvements to his head growth. I was worried he might not like wearing the helmet but he has been doing great! Thanks to the staff members at Cranial Technologies for making this difficult journey a lot more of a positive experience. I even decorated the helmet to make it look more awesome. Now, when we’re out in public parents are always asking about the stickers on his helmet and about his condition. I’m given an opportunity to educate other parents since this was a learning experience for me and I didn’t have anyone to relate to.
There is hope
To all of the mothers out there, whether you’re going through this similar journey as a Doc Band Mama or if you’re going through postpartum, please don’t ever feel like you’re alone or blame yourself for the things that are outside of your control. You don’t have to suffer in silence like I did. You are not alone, mama. I’m with you every step of the way. There’s a huge community of support all around us, the first step is - believing in yourself and knowing that you are absolutely without a doubt ENOUGH for yourself and for your children.
About the author
Hanna N. is a wife, mother, Wellness Coach, Youtuber and advocate for Moms. Follow and learn more about Hanna on Instagram @konjo_haney
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See you on the other side, Mamas!
xx.