Reagan was two months old when her pediatrician recommended we take her to Riley because she didn’t feel as though her head was shaped right. We drove up in December for Dr. Ackerman to take one look at her and say “Oh yeah, she has craniosynostosis.” She put Reagan through a scan for confirmation. At the end of the day we were sent home with the confirmed diagnosis of craniosynostosis. Craniosynostosis is when the platelets in you head fuse together prematurely causing your head to be mishapened. This, too, can cause vision impairments, learning disabilites, severe headaches and lack of room for the brain to grow porperly. February 4th, 2014, at barely 3 months old, Reagan had surgery. Dr. Ackerman had to separate the platelets in her head allowing her brain the proper space needed to grow.
To this day no one would know Reagan ever had a problem. The only things she has to show for it is a slowly enclosing soft spot at the crown of her head and a scar that goes ear to ear.
Reagan actually went under assessment and was accepted into preschool a semester early! She is starting back tomorrow at a new school.
Since before Reagan was even thought of Seth and I were in our local Kiwanis chapter who happen to be big supporters of Riley Children’s Hospital. Now that we have Reagan and we have all gone through such an experience with Riley, we continue to support Riley and have Reagan joining the ranks with us.
Reagan is very outgoing and, though only 3 years old, she understands she is helping other children when she does Riley events. Aside from being a Riley kid and supporter, Reagan plays soccer and is starting the Fall season in a couple of weeks. She loves Moana and loves being outside doing anything!
There is also a YouTube video of Raegan’s story: https://youtu.be/PtrHV4xpG_w