First Appointment Scheduled

So today around 2:30, Boston Children's Hospital called us regarding Benjamin's referral. After providing Benjamin's basic information; date of birth, address, guardianship, insurance information, etc., I was transferred to the "Plastics" department as the intake specialist so kindly referred it. This is comprised mostly of plastic surgeons, who diagnose and surgically correct skeletal abnormalities of the skull, facial bones and soft tissue

After providing the same information to the Plastic Surgeon's office staff as the intake specialist, I was stopped mid-sentance when we came up to Benjamin's age. Benjamin will be 11 weeks this Saturday. As a result, the specialist from Plastics told me he would not need to be seen by a plastic surgeon and we were to go straight to Dr. Proctor's office immediately.

Dr. Proctor's office is actually the Cleft and Craniofacial Center (the Plastic Surgeon I learned is also in the same department but a subsection of the center). Dr. Proctor is a neurosurgeons, who performs surgical procedures on a child’s brain, spinal cord or nerves. From the office staff there I learned that Benjamin is of urgent nature due to his age. Babies beyond four months of age are no longer candidates for Endoscopic Surgery and must go through Cranial Vault Remodeling instead. So after taking my information for the third time she told me that Dr. Proctor was in meetings all day but he would want to read Benjamin's information first and she would call me tomorrow rather than make an appointment which could be a month or two away. I ended the call happy knowing we were at least getting the ball rolling.

LESS than an hour later she called back, Dr. Proctor wants to see Benjamin A.S.A.P. As a result she scheduled him for a week from Thursday at Children's. So now we wait.

This could actually turn out to be a really good thing because it means he might be a candidate for Endoscopic surgery with a helmet for 6 months versus the more risky and traumatizing Cranio Vault surgery which slices the skull open from ear to ear and still a helmet could be needed afterwards.

So now, we just sit and wait... or rather the boys wait and I burry myself in research!