Incredible Act Of Kindness Changes Life Of Baby Born With Flat Head Syndrome
[Photo: SWNS]
A baby born with flat head syndrome has had his life changed after a stranger paid for all of his treatment.
Lathan Beasley, from Cheltenham, was born with plagiocephaly, a condition that left his skull partly deformed and required that he wear a custom-made helmet to help his skull form in a certain way.
The “TiMBand” treatment wasn’t available on the NHS, prompting the six-month-old baby’s family to launch an appeal to raise £2,000 for the treatment. And their efforts paid off.
Just two weeks after starting fundraising, one woman gave them the entire sum. And just seven weeks after starting his treatment, Lathan’s condition has already improved dramatically.
“Now I’m thinking of ways to say thank you for something like this. We just can’t stop looking at Lathan to see how much it’s helped him,” says Lathan’s mum Kyra.
[Photo: SWNS]
[Photo: SWNS]
The treatment will continue for between three to six months, with the helmet only allowing growth within exactly defined limits so that the baby’s head reshapes to look as it should.
Without the generosity of the donor, who wants to stay anonymous, Mrs Beasley says it could’ve taken close to a year to raise the cash they needed. And waiting a year to start treatment may have made the helmet less effective.
“It’s horrible for a parent when you can’t do something your child needs,” says the mum-of-four. “It’s just made things more normal because we can just get on and we don’t have to worry about being careful with his head, and he can just look at us all much easier.”
[Photo: SWNS]
[Photo: SWNS]
Mrs Beasley plans to thank the kind stranger by keeping a memory box “to show her what she’s actually done for him, how much her generosity has changed it and help it.”
If you wish to donate towards Leathen’s treatment, you can do so through the family’s online Just Giving page.
Flat head syndrome sounds a lot worse than it is, so try not to stress if you think your baby has it. It’s a surprisingly common condition and is usually nothing to worry about – it affects up to a quarter of babies and tends to sort itself out. The amount the head flattens can range, from being hardly noticeable to really obvious – which, as a parent, can be extremely scary. But, it doesn’t affect the growth of the skull or the brain in any way and, in most cases, time is the only treatment needed. Still, it’s always best to seek medical advice so you know all your options.
