Torticollis Diagnosis

On Friday, Kellyn had her two big appointments with her pediatrician and her physical therapist.  Her pediatrician officially diagnosed her with torticollis.  Later that day, Kellyn had an initial evaluation with an outpatient physical therapist.  She confirmed the diagnosis, did some initial physical therapy exercises with Kellyn, and gave us a helpful flyer to take home that outlined her exercises with detailed descriptions and pictures.  I was so nervous about her initial physical therapy appointment that I brought along two sources of moral support: my husband and my mother :)  I felt less anxious with them by my side.

When I got home, I felt pretty overwhelmed.  I had a list of about eight different exercises that I had do with Kellyn at least five times daily.  It would not be as challenging if she was my only child.  However, Luke (my two and a half-year-old) keeps me very busy since he's such an energetic and active little guy.  Between the kids' naps, meal times, diaper changes, doctors' appointments, activities, and preschool pick-ups and drop-offs, it was very hard to set aside about fifteen minutes to run through just one set of her exercises.  So trying to find at least five of these spaces of time throughout my day seemed like a daunting task.  In order to make this happen, I would need to drop any unnecessary daily tasks and dedicate a good majority of Kellyn's waking hours to these exercises.  Between shuffling her around to various doctor's appointments and doing her exercises at home, I certainly had my work cut out for me.  

For parents who just received a torticollis diagnosis for your child, here is a list of resources I have compiled.  I encourage you to discuss any treatment options you are considering with your child's treatment provider to make sure he/she approves.