Torticollis - A.K.A. "The Tilt"

And so the saga continues...
I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about all this wacky health stuff, but since this is what is all consuming lately...this is what I'm blogging about. Alec is doing well. As happy as ever, completely unaware of the angst he's caused mom and dad. After speaking with the Pediatrician, we mutually decided it was time for Physical Therapy for the head tilt. The technical term is Congenital Torticollis...say that 5 times fast!

What is Torticollis you might ask?
Torticollis literally means "twisted neck". It is derived from the Latin terms torta meaning twisted and collum meaning neck. The term "torticollis" actually refers to the positioning of the head. There are many underlying conditions that can cause a head and neck position that would be considered torticollis. Alec's is called Congenital because he was born with it. It has improved greatly since he was born and truly was never that bad compared to some cases. But it was bad enough that we had to do daily neck stretches with him, which he hated. So, now he just has this adorable head tilt which everyone find so endearing...yet we know the truth.

Alec went to the PT on Monday and because of all the stretching we have been doing, he has great mobility and movement. Which is good news. So, the tightness in his neck is almost gone, but since he's spent the entire 8 months of his life favoring his right side, since using his left side was uncomfortable...his left side is weak and continues to have the tilt. So, we now have a daily regimen of strengthening exercises that are subtle but should help him improve his strength.

Other good news is that both the Torticollis Doctor and his Physical Therapist thought the whole right side is bigger than the left side and tumor thing was absurd. They didn't say that outright, but from what they did say and how they said it...you could tell they were shocked the Neurologist even suggested it since it is so minor. They think he's fine. Both said that the enlargement on his right side is minimal, almost undetectable and it is probably because he favors his right side. Whew!

So, we're all feeling much better about pretty much everything. We're still paying the doctor bills from the previous visits, and who knows how much these PT visits will be, but in the end...if the little one is healthy we just don't care. Since the tilt is mild, I'm guessing it will only be a couple months of PT. The older they get, the stiffer everything gets and the longer it takes to rectify. So I'm glad we're doing it sooner rather than later. I got the feeling the PT would have liked to have begun a couple months ago with Alec, but when it's this mild...they sometimes right themselves on their own when they start sitting up.

As to the "Amazing Tomatoe Act", it continues to baffle the doctors but is becoming more and more infrequent. So, we're trying not to worry about it too much. If it comes back again in full force, we'll have to go down that road. But right now, we're just keeping an eye on it and tracking it as it now infrequently shows up.

Take care everyone and hopefully the next blog will be about something fun and entertaining...