WE HAVE A GRADUATE!
Ethan has officially finished his DOC Band journey – 4 weeks early! New measurements were taken at his 8 week appointment, which was supposed to be the half-way point, and the doctors were so happy with his recent growth that they decided he could shave 4 entire weeks off of his treatment plan! After taking an initial look, the doctor guessed he would be able to shave 2 weeks off – meaning he would have had another 6 weeks in his band – but after reviewing the measurements in detail, she cut that estimate down by another 2 weeks. We were not at all expecting to have any time reduced, in fact, we were worried that another 8 weeks wouldn’t be enough as he was diagnosed past the preferred age window.
Our office informed us that there was no need to come back into the office to remove the band after those 4 weeks, we could simply take it off at home and just pop in one final time for his last 2 week adjustment. At that final 2 week adjustment we were provided with his graduation certificate and emailed a copy of his records, which included photos of his “before & after” measurements – as seen below:
Ethan’s band will be placed on a customized Build-a-Bear, which we decided to do for 2 reasons: 1) we wanted to keep the band but couldn’t bring ourselves to just toss it in a bin or in a closet, and 2) Ethan loves to play with his band so we figured this would still allow him to do so without fear of it being damaged.
I’m both happy & sad that our DOC Band journey is over. I’m thrilled that he can finish out the Summer without fear of getting his band wet or having him overheat while wearing it – but I’m also sad because I’ve grown so used to seeing him in it. I’m going to miss my little helmet head!
Overall, I am so glad we decided to embark on this journey. Ethan took to wearing the band so easily, which was such a blessing, and we secretly loved the extra protection it gave him when he took a tumble (kidding…kind of).
I would love to hear about your DOC Band experience and/or answer any questions you may have so please feel free to comment below or shoot me a message!
