After the craniectomy to remove the infection and skull I was told I was only allowed to move around if I had my head protected at all times. My mum was with me in the hospital when the lady arrived to fit the helmet - I was imagining a helmet like the footballers wear or something similar.... I was not expecting a bright blue helmet like this......
Now I am not vain, I was okay with a shaved head, a scar from ear to ear and a bum bag that held my PICC line antibiotics.... but this was next level!! I did not say anything when the lady was there fitting the helmet, but when she left all I could do was laugh and cry with mum. The next surgery wouldn't be for a few months at a minimum - all I could think about was how am I going to wear this!! I felt like this helmet drew attention to me... I had to find a solution.
After I shared a post on my Facebook a friend reached out to say that his mum had had a similar procedure where her skull was removed and she was given a helmet to wear until the titanium one was inserted. She could not stand the helmet and found a company called "Anatomics", based in VIC, they are an Australian owned innovative medical device and software company. They had created a device called the "Skull Pro", which is a 3D protector printed from a personalised CT scan. Smart SkullPro (anatomics.com). I reached out to the company, had a CT scan and got the wheels in motion to print my own Skull Pro to see if this was a solution for me.
I had to attend a few doctors appointments wearing the helmet and you would think going to the doctors would be okay as they obviously know something is wrong....but no, as I was walking in and out of hospitals I got so many looks....I even had someone ask me if I was ok....I could not wait for my Skull Pro to arrive.
The day it arrived in the mail I was so excited! I tried it on immediately, but because my head was still really sensitive I was nervous to touch it or put anything on it. The consultant from Anatomics called me via video to help me position it correctly. I was so pleased, although it felt bulky to begin with, I felt somewhat normal with a Skull Pro plus it was also an excuse to buy several different coloured head scarves! :)
