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Latest Update- 15/12/2014

Well, it's been 3.5 weeks since our last update but what a great 3 weeks they have been. Matt and I successfully completed our 10 mile walk with Ethan around the Waterside. It was such a lovely day, blue sky and a little chilly but the sun was shining for us so we were very thankful. We managed to walk the 10.8 mile distance in just under 4.5 hours, which is actually pretty slow! haha, although we did have to feed and change Ethan a couple of times so that probably slowed us down....or maybe its because we are so unfit and were so tired that we only walked about 1 mile an hour for the second half!! :) So glad we managed to complete it though and we actually really enjoyed ourselves, thank you to everyone that waved/beeped/stopped to give us abuse!! 

Also, we had Ethan's head measured by the specialist on wednesday and amazingly his skull has grown 5mm in the right direction, which is FANTASTIC and shows the helmet is working properly by restricting growth in the wrong direction. Matt and I can definitely see and 'feel' a difference in his head shape....and its only been 3 weeks! So thats a great start! I will keep this pages updated for anyone who is interested in his progress. 

Finally, just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who helped us to raise the money, we are so very grateful. Lots of Love and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  Matt & Caley xxx

Latest Update- 20/11/14

After 2 weeks of waiting nervously, Ethan had his helmet fitted today. He was a little bit tired during the appointment so there was a fair amount of grizzling and it took longer than expected but after a quick power nap on the way home, he's all smiles again!! He has already worn the helmet for a whole hour at home without a single moan. We have a few days to get used to the helmet, getting it on and off and cleaning it etc, then its full steam ahead to permanent wear!! Thank you again to all who donated and helped us with this, we are so very grateful. 

Regarding my 10 mile walk......Planks wanted to come along too, so we have changed it to Saturday 6th December! (about 2 weeks time).

Anyway, lots and lots of Love to you all. Thank you again, Love me, matt and Ethan xxxxx

Latest Update 06/11/14-  First of all, I need to say HUGE Thank you to everyone who has donated. We are literally gobsmacked at the amount of love from everyone and Matt and I have both had such an emotional day, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we are very very lucky and I promise I am going to walk my BUTT off on that '10 miler'!!! xxxx

Ethan had his first appointment today to measure his head  and have it scanned by a laser to get a good 3D image sent off to the helmet- making elves in London. He was such a good boy and sat nice and still in his little chair, bless him. He had to wear a sock on his head and ended up looking like a mini sumo-wrestling tellytubby! His new helmet will be here in 2 weeks and then he will have to wear it all the time for at least 3 to 4 months, possibly 6. We have also chosen a very cool 'outer space' pattern for the helmet....well....he's got a reputation to maintain! Will update again soon and thank you again from the bottom of our hearts xxx

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Hello everyone :)

Thank you for visiting mine and Matt's fundraising page. This week, our favourite little munchkin Ethan has sadly been diagnosed with severe Brachycephaly & Plagiocephaly. 

Brachycephaly & Plagiocephaly are little-known conditions that effect the skull development of very young babies and cause them to become extremely mis-shapen as they grow older causing cranial and facial deformity. For a few months Matt & I have been worried about the shape and 'feel' of Ethan's little head and finally decided to visit my GP who confirmed that Ethan's skull was not growing properly. We were referred to Southampton Orthotics who then scanned and measured Ethan's head and diagnosed him properly. Unfortunately the only treatment for these conditions is a special custom-fit helmet that Ethan will need to wear all day, everyday for 3-6 months. The helmet-therapy has an amazing success rate but currently costs around £2000. Due to this, the NHS will not fund the treatment and we are having to treat Ethan privately and pay for the helmet ourselves (sad face).

We are trying to raise as much money as we can to put towards the cost of his special helmet. The charity 'A headstart 4 babies' which raises awareness for this condition has kindly agreed to let us use their name to fund-raise for Ethan's personal treatment.

I wasn't really sure what to do, so to start, I have planned a 10 mile walk around the Water-side area with Ethan and will hopefully be doing this on Friday 5th December (weather permitting). I will try and upload the details from 'Map my walk' but basically i'm walking from house in Dibden to Hythe, then down to Holbury, Gangwarily, Rolestone road then back through Holbury and Hythe (past the Glen) to eventually finish up where I started at home in Dibden Purlieu. A total of 10.8 miles or 18 kilometers. It probably doesn't sound like much, but i'm going to try and walk it in 4 hours or less with my pram, which for me (totally unfit) will be quite an achievement. I am hoping to add another similar event in late December, so if anyone has any ideas etc then let me know....apart from shaving my head, i'm open to pretty much anything! :) 

If you would like to sponsor our little walk, we would be very very grateful for any donations. I realise we probably wont make it to £2000, but even if we raised £50, it would help us so much.

Ethan has his first head-scan tomorrow and will hopefully have his helmet fitted in the next 2 weeks. I will keep this page updated with Ethan's progress anyway, so everyone can see how the little squirt is getting on  and if anyone would like to know more about the condition then please visit a great website called www.aheadstart4babies.org

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