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Eighteen months ago, 28-year-old Kylie Barker discovered that she was 31 weeks pregnant with a son who had an abnormally-shaped head.
Barker had no clue that she was pregnant. Receiving all this news at once took her by complete shock. She’d gone to the hospital to be treated for a severe asthma attack, not expecting any of this to pan out as it did.
Just a week later, Barker’s son, Harry, was born premature and weighed only three pounds.
His head, however, was already the size of a full-grown adult’s head.
Harry Barker was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, a birth defect where the growth of the skull and brain during pregnancy proceed abnormally. The skull closes first, but the brain continues to form, making the skull take on a strange appearance by the time of birth.
This condition also meant that there was an incredible amount of pressure on Harry’s brain. He constantly suffered from intense pain in his head each time he moved, and would have to undergo surgery to relieve some of this pressure to avoid future brain damage.
Harry underwent his first surgery when he was just three months old.
His doctors broke apart his skull to remove excess bone and put it back together again. After three months, the surgery was repeated to relieve even more pressure.
Unfortunately, neither surgery was completely successful at removing all of the pressure from Harry’s brain; he will have to undergo at least one more procedure soon.
His parents are now doing everything they can just to make Harry’s life a little more comfortable. They’re currently saving up for a special stroller that has equipment to keep Harry’s head secure, so he can more comfortably leave the house and see outside. After that, they’d like to fit him with a helmet to better protect his skull after surgeries.
Kylie can only hope that her son’s pain will end soon. She knows Harry is in constant pain, even though he just “smiles throughout it.”
