Mason – Metopic

When Mason was 5 months old, his father and I took him in for a regular well-baby check at our pediatrician’s office. It was at this appointment that his doctor noticed that the front of Mason’s head was more narrow than usual and he also noticed a ridge going down the middle of his forehead. We had never noticed anything abnormal, we thought his head was perfect the way it was. After an explanation from the doctor and a possible diagnosis, we were referred to a neurosurgeon in Atlanta. In December of 2012, we visited Dr. Reisner at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Mason had an MRI, and then they confirmed our worst fears… our son had Metopic Craniosynostosis.

Mason had surgery on January 10th of 2013. This was, by far, the scariest day of our lives. His surgery took about 2 ½ hours and then the doctor called to tell me that they were wrapping up and Mason was doing great. We were so relieved. Although the road to recovery was ahead, Mason was out of surgery and we were going to be beside our son. Mason looked terrific after surgery… then several hours later, the swelling set in. The swelling, for me, was the worst part. He could not open his eyes and his little face was so tight. The first time he woke up, he couldn’t see but we talked to him the entire time and he smiled and made noises. On post-op day 3, Mason started peeking out of his left eye. He was talking and moving and pulling on all the cords. Our nurse had to keep coming back to reattach the monitors that were stuck to his chest. At this point, he was only receiving Tylonel as needed. Mason did so well after surgery that we were sent home 2 days early! Once we got home, Mason was very fussy and uncomfortable. Sleeping was difficult and he woke several times a night. Day by day, things got a little easier. The swelling was still there after 2 weeks but he was slowly turning back into our crazy baby boy. Now, almost 2 months post-op, Mason is pretty much back to normal. He has definitely amazed us just like the Cranio Care Bears said he would! We had a follow-up appointment a few weeks after surgery and everything looked so good that he said we should return in a year for our next follow-up! We are so proud of our son and he has taught us amazing things about strength!