A US couple, whose son was born with part of his skull missing, are celebrating after he defied doctors’ expectations of an early death.
Alyssa Reidhead was 23 weeks pregnant when she learned that her unborn child had the rare condition Encephalocele.
This disorder causes a baby’s brain to grow outside of the skull, due to the bone not forming completely, and doctors did not anticipate Will to survive.
Doctors’ expectations
Will Reidhead was born after a caesarean section at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.
His father Ben described how it felt when they were told the news of their son’s condition.
“We were going in for one of the happiest times of our lives and come out walking like we just heard the worst news we could’ve ever heard,” he said.
Funeral arrangements
Mum Alyssa added, “They just kept saying, ‘Oh, he’ll be born but he’ll only live for a couple minutes,’ or, ‘If you go through labor, he’ll probably pass away during labor.'”
The couple had even started planning funeral arrangements for their unborn child.
“We picked out a casket and we picked out what we were going to do,” Alyssa said.
Staying in hospital
However, Will has defied all expectations.
Alyssa said: “He’s not hooked up to anything. He’s breathing fine. He’s lifting his head. He’s moving around. He’s pretty much acting like a completely normal baby.”
Will remains in hospital as doctors attempt to determine a way to protect his head, causing him to be kept on his stomach.
Re-diagnosis
Doctors re-diagnosised him after birth with another rare disease called Cutis Aplasia, where the back part of his brain is covered not by a hard skull, but instead by a delicate, thin membrane.
An online fundraising campaign has been started to help support the parents in providing for their new-born baby.