Our baby boy, Kirk Winfield Thoms, Jr., was born on May 10, 2013, one day before his due date. He was a healthy 7 pounds, 15 ounces and completely stole our hearts at first sight. Right away, we noticed the shape of his forehead, but didn't really think anything about it. Nor did the doctors or pediatrician on call bring anything to our concern. I think we all just assumed it was from his positioning in the womb and birth canal and that it would eventually round out.
It wasn't until his 4 month well checkup that our pediatrician began to show concern. She noticed that his soft spot felt smaller than normal, and this, along with the shape of his forehead, made her question if there was an underlying problem. She briefly mentioned something about "skull sutures fusing prematurely" then said the words "craniosynostosis" and "surgery". That was all I needed to hear..I went straight home and began researching and looking up everything I could. I wanted to know all about it...the different types, treatment options, everything. This is when I came across Dr. Fearon's name, a craniofacial surgeon in Dallas, Texas. He is very highly regarded in his field, and his center in Dallas is one of the top craniofacial centers in the country. After reading his website backwards and forwards, I decided to email him and send him pictures of Field's head. He is 98% accurate in diagnosing craniosynostosis just by physical examination. He responded within two days, with a very long, detailed email letting us know his thoughts and opinions. He told us that he believes we have a very normal son who just happens to have trigonocephaly due to metopic craniosynostosis. Trigonocephaly refers to the triangular shape of the forehead and is caused when the metopic suture of the skull fuses prematurely. Aside from the physical appearance, this can restrict the brain from growing properly and cause increased pressure on the brain which can lead to severe headaches, vision problems, and developmental delays later in life. There is no way to know for certain if and when these problems will arise, so surgery is most always recommended when the case is moderate to severe.
So we made a consultation appointment for November and took Field (6 months old then) to Dallas to meet with Dr. Fearon. We were very impressed by him, as both a person and a doctor, and he did recommend that Field have CVR (cranial vault remodeling) surgery between 10 and 12 months of age. He let us know that he would be happy to take care of him, or if we wanted to use another doctor, he would still be happy to answer any questions and concerns we may have and to email or call him anytime. We already knew that if we decided to follow through with surgery, we definitely wanted him.
Kirk and I prayed for guidance, talked about it everyday, talked about it with our parents, our families and our friends, and prayed, and prayed more. We ultimately knew that Field needed the surgery and we felt God leading us to Dallas. Although our journey is long from over, we have already felt God's presence and guidance in such a huge way through all of this. There is no way that Kirk and I would have the strength and courage to make these decisions on our own...decisions to put our baby through such a major surgery...without God holding our hands and showing us every step of the way.
Field's surgery is one week from yesterday, on Tuesday, March 18 at 7:30 am. We will head out to Dallas this weekend, along with our parents. We have a full day of pre-op appointments on Monday, and then will check into the hospital at 6:00 am Tuesday morning. The surgery should last around 4 hours, and if all goes as planned, he will spend one night in PICU and then be moved to a regular floor for the second night, and hopefully be able to leave the hospital on Thursday.
We are so blessed and thankful for all of the love and support shown to us by our friends and family already. Like I said before, we would not be able to get through this without the strength God has given us through all of your prayers, and we continue to covet your prayers for our Field and for his team of doctors and nurses as we prepare for his surgery and recovery.
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
-Psalm 139:13-16
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