Meltham baby’s amazing helmet recovery

Feb 27 2010 by Anne-Marie Senior, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Watts

HIS CHEEKY smile hides months of heartache and worry for his parents.

Now Sally and Allan Watts, of Meltham, can breathe a sigh of relief as preparations are being made to remove son Callum’s helmet for good.

The six-month-old developed a misshapen head after he was born because he was unable to move his neck properly.

Mum Sally – who also has a three year-old-daughter – noticed the problem when he was around eight weeks old.

She said: “His head had grown and it was really flat on one side.

“I started to observe him and realised he couldn’t turn to the right at all so he was just laying looking to the left all the time.

“I tried to stimulate his other side by laying him the other way in the cot, keeping him off his back or putting him on his tummy.

“Then I started to research what it might be and we went to the doctors.”

Callum was eventually referred to a paediatrician at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where he was diagnosed with two conditions – the flat head condition plagiocephaly and brachycephaly, causing his head to grow more rounded.

His parents were told he may grow out of it and were asked to bring him back in another three months.

They also discovered they were victims of a postcode lottery because NHS Kirklees – which pays for treatment – does not fund the £2,000 cost of helmets to treat the problem in this area, unlike Leeds where the costs are covered.

Sally, 30, who is still on maternity leave from her job as a housing manager, added: “I knew it would get worse so we knew we couldn’t leave it.

“Research shows they have more chance of changing the shape in the first 14 months when the head is growing so rapidly. We couldn’t wait.”