Teddy John Marc Willis was born 29th May 2009 with what we were told was over lapping or fused skull bones and we were sent on our way with our tiny baby with the funny head.
Teddy was and still is absolutely beautiful in our eyes but there was no arguing he did have a rather strange head, sort of like an upside down boat. You couldn’t help but think it, face on he was such a cutie but side on was a different story, it was just… I don’t know a bit … well…funny!
We had a lovely midwife that visited us, and god bless her she thought she was helping by telling us that growing up we would have to explain his funny head and pre warned us of bullying that he WILL go through.Now as a mother you just want the best start for your baby not to prepare him for a lifetime of name-calling and abuse! I was totally heart broken and really was just waiting for someone to say “what are you talking about, his head is fine” but those words did not come.
Instead we were faced with funny looks, comments from unknowing children and no support. Even our health visitor didn’t know how to deal with Teddy with the funny head and our local hospital said he could get brain damage and if he cried and was sick just rush him to A&E. Hmmm great advice for a new born baby, that’s all they do!Then we were referred to the John Radcliff, cranio facial unit. The home of “Teddy’s with funny heads” and they went on to tell us that Teddy had Sagittal Craniosyntosis, and they told us all about it and that we should look for support in the arms of Headlines a support group for family members.
Now I am here, a bit stronger, ready to face the world and raise money for Headlines to go on and educate the world, because the hardest thing in all this was people thinking that my Teddy, my beautiful, smart, happy Teddy was just a “Teddy with a funny head”.So please support me, Teddy’s mummy and a group of friends that have been with me on this emotional roller coaster. We going to do the Cranio Stomp, a 14 mile walk around Reading on Sunday 26th September at 10am and we are going to raise money!!
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