My son, Andres, now 26 months old, wore two DOC Bands over the period of 8 months. He received the first DOC Band at 13 months and graduated at 21 months, with good results for his age. However, prior to wearing his first DOC Band, he was the victim of two ill-fitting helmets in Los Angeles (non-DOC Bands), which made his head shape worse. Sadly, throughout the course of the first treatment, the people in charge could not find a resolution for the endless fit issues, one of which was caused by the long lapse of time between scanning and fitting the helmet when he was only 8.5 months old. When the shape of my son's skull resembled the ill-fitting helmets, I stopped the treatment and my son left that facility with a worse head shape than at the start.

In December 2005, after much research and medical opinions, we found a more experienced cranial remolding clinic—in San Diego. My husband and I took Andres for a consultation with Angela Kaiser, the DOC Band clinician. Tears come to my eyes just remembering the first time I saw the office. It was bright and cheery and, most importantly, I saw other banded babies. Finally, I knew we were in the right place.

Ms. Kaiser told us there was hope for Andres, despite the additional deformities caused by the other helmets and the late start of treatment, at 13 months. Her staff helped with the detailed documents for the pediatrician and insurance company. At first our insurance denied DOC Band coverage. I wrote a 30-page appeal, with documents, articles, pictures and medical journals. They all supported the DOC Band and its effectiveness. I focused on the fact that Cranial Technologies is the only facility that successfully bands babies up to 2 years and beyond. Three weeks later, my insurance approved the treatment.

When my son received the band one week later, I couldn't believe the difference from the ill-fitting LA helmet experience. Over the course of the next 8 months (and 2 DOC Bands), I made a 6-hour round-trip commute every 3 weeks.

Our clinician, Ms. Kaiser, was pleasant and patient. She answered all my questions and, most importantly, she had a great rapport with my toddler son. I looked forward to my son's adjustment visits. It was reassuring to compare Andres' head mold to his actual growing/correcting head shape. The office staff was ALWAYS accommodating to our needs, we were never rushed, the parent area was great, it even had a microwave and the bathrooms were clean and stocked with baby necessities.

On our final visit I fought back my tears of appreciation for CranialTech. My son won't remember his DOC Band experience, but I always will and I am sincerely grateful for all that your company has done for my family and continues to do for others.

Thank you,
Hazel, Jose and Andres (San Diego, Calif.)