Teddy Parry
Baby – Teddy Parry
Parents – Carol and Matt Mercer
Location – Stockport
Teddy wearing his new Starband™ Helmet
Age treatment started – 5 months
Stockport parents Carol and Matt were proud when their perfect looking son Teddy was born almost a year ago.
At four weeks old, mum Carol noticed that Teddy’s once perfect head shape was beginning to change. She noticed that it had become flat at the back and on the left side, while the right side of his head looked slightly bulbous. Also, his ears were not level with each other.
Both parents mentioned their concerns to a health visitor who explained that Teddy had a condition called plagiocephaly (or flat head syndrome) but that it was a common complaint and would sort itself out. Not satisfied, they visited their GP and asked for Teddy to be referred a Paediatrician.
The Paediatrician, along with all other health professionals Carol and Matt spoke to, said that the condition was nothing to cause concern. She suggested repositioning techniques (for example, getting Teddy to look to his right and lie on his right side to even out the head shape) but this was a non-starter as Teddy simply wouldn't comply and always returned to lying on his left side.
Carol and Matt scoured the internet for more information and found out a lot about the condition. Both parents knew that the way forward was treatment and after speaking to a friend whose baby had been treated successfully by Össur’s Technology in Motion centre in Leeds, they went to them for advice.
Teddy was five months old when he began wearing the STARband™ – a helmet that gradually re-shapes the skull as it grows. It took him a couple of nights to adjust to wearing the helmet but he soon forgot that it was there. He even seemed to miss it when it came off!
Teddy’s treatment lasted just under three months, and his head shape and head circumference is now within normal range. Now aged 11 months, his parents are adamant that if he hadn’t been treated with the STARband™ helmet, his almost perfect head shape would not have been achieved.
Carol said: “We were so worried as we didn't want our son to grow up with a mishapen head. We didn't have any faith that the Health Authority's advice that the condition would right itself was true and we wanted to make sure that Teddy had the best possible chance of having his head shape corrected. We felt that a STARband™ helmet was our only option and have been so glad that we made that decision.”