Parents: Caroline and Stephen
Location: County Durham

Joey’s parents first noticed that his head appeared an odd shape when he was about four months old (it looked completely flat across the back, and also a little flat at the right-hand side towards his ear). They tried all the repositioning techniques advised, but if anything his head seemed to be getting worse.

After getting nowhere with the health visitor, Caroline and Stephen went to see the paediatrician at their local hospital in County Durham – he immediately referred them to a specialist consultant based in Blackburn for treatment with a STARband™ helmet.

At first Joey’s parents were concerned about him having to wear a helmet for three to four months – virtually 24 hours a day – but he adapted to it brilliantly: Caroline is convinced he will actually miss it when it comes off!

It took a while to get used to a lot of staring when out in public, particularly at children’s play areas or at the supermarket. Some people presume he has had some sort of horrific accident! It does bother Caroline sometimes, as she would rather people came up and asked her what was wrong with him, instead of blatantly staring. As she says, however, “it’s because the condition isn’t widely recognised”.

Joey’s head has improved 100 per cent – and to look at him now, you would never know there had been anything wrong with his head shape. Caroline and Stephen agree that the treatment is “absolutely fantastic, especially as it is completely painless and, in almost all cases, 100 per cent effective”. Hopefully, they say, doctors and paediatricians will become more aware of the condition so that more people can be informed about the treatment – and so that one day it actually becomes available on the NHS.