Chiari Malformation

A couple months ago we took Rowan to the physical therapist to look at his toe walking, on the recommendation of his teachers through Shakopee schools. While reviewing his history, the Doctor at Gillette took notice of Rowan's rapid head growth as an infant and the large size of his head compared to his body. She suggested having an MRI done as a precaution to make sure he did not have Water on the Brain. After the MRI we got word that there was no water on the brain.

Following that, however, we had another conversation with the doctor. She had shown Rowan's MRI scans to some other specialists to get more opinions. It was determined that Rowan has a condition called "chiari malformation". With this condition, a portion of his brain sticks out the bottom of the skull where the spinal cord goes up. Luckily, he is type one, which is the mildest form. Apparently people can walk around with this without even knowing (side note...when I mentioned it to my aunt she said that SHE has it...) and sometimes it is found when looking for something else.

What it means for us is that Rowan now needs another MRI, this time of the spinal column to make sure that there is not too much pressure on that area. He will be having that in July. We will then meet with a neurosurgeon at Gillette to go over the results. We will keep out minds positive that this is not causing anything serious and will be something Rowan can live with and we can monitor.

They will not say for sure if this condition is the reason for Rowan's delays. However many websites list chiari malformation as causing *poor hand coordination and fine motor skills (he has it) and *Unsteady gait (yep-that is what we met with the doc about in the first place). Who knows. I guess the important thing is that he is getting all the help he can.