How Zara set medics straight on her wonky head baby
Cheeky Roman HE might look like he’s about to go skydiving but baby Roman Clark has to wear his “magic” helmet every day to combat his “wonky head”.
His mum Zara Ransley not only diagnosed her son’s rare condition online but she crowdfunded a cure which will help him look just like other children when he is older.
Little Roman was born with a flat head and a tilted neck meaning he looked like his head wasn’t on straight. As his sister Jazmine, four, explains: “He has a head like a pancake, but it needs to be a football.”
But medics insisted all was well, so Zara, 31, began researching online and became convinced he was suffering from plagiocephaly, or flat head syndrome. Then she fought to get an appointment at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital where her suspicions were confirmed.
But specialists there revealed the £2,000 helmet Roman needed to correct his condition was not available on the NHS.
Undaunted, Zara set up a crowdfunding appeal. Donations flooded in from friends and neighbours in Ramsgate, Kent – and even the local mayor pitched in.
Roman, who also suffers from developmental delay and epilepsy, was fitted with his helmet in January.
Zara says: “We chose the name Roman because we wanted something that sounds strong and he really is a little warrior.
“He copes brilliantly with his helmet and it breaks my heart when rude people gawp at him in the supermarket.
“I’ve bought him a T-shirt that says ‘The longer you stare, the cuter I get’. I was a placid, shy person before I had kids, but now I’m proud to be a Mumzilla. Sometimes, that’s the only way to get things done.”
Roman, now 10 months, must wear his helmet for 23-and-a-half hours a day. Zara says: “The sooner a baby has the helmet, the better its chances.
“He is always cheerful, despite the helmet giving him pressure sores.
“When I unclip it to give him a break, he gets down on the floor like a dog and rubs his head on the carpet.” Zara with Roman and sister Jazmine