THE family of a 'miracle baby' who suffers from a skull deformity are raising money to help cure the condition after being told the NHS won't fund it.
Woody Buxton has developmental brachycephaly, a flattening and asymmetry of the skull also known as flat head syndrome.
The nine-month-old will need to wear a special helmet for 23 hours a day to remould the shape of his head, but parents Victoria Whitney and Christopher Buxton have been told the NHS won't pay for the treatment.
Instead the couple from Pendeen are having to find the £2,500 needed for the specially designed helmet.
"We're so lucky to have Woody," said Miss Whitney. "He's our miracle baby and he's already an inspiration to everyone who meets him as he's such a wise and happy baby. We're lucky he's alive."
The skull condition is believed to have been caused in the womb and also through an undiagnosed breech birth which saw Woody delivered naturally feet first.
Woody was delivered in an ambulance at Chiverton Cross roundabout on the A30. Had it been known that he was in the breech position, he would probably have been delivered by caesarean section.
Now the youngster faces another challenge as his parents fight to pay for the treatment he needs.
"The NHS said it doesn't pay for the helmet because it believes there is no clinical benefit, but no clinical trials have been run," said Victoria, 32.
"They are not even prepared to find out if it has any benefit. It is not fair.
"When he grows up, children aren't always kind and people have already started saying things about his head.
"It's wrong."
Miss Whitney said it was difficult for the couple to decide that their son should wear a helmet for 23 hours a day for at least eight months.
"We're lucky he survived his birth; we're lucky with a million things," she said. "We're hopeful this will work."
Woody already visits a private clinician in Bristol because his parents are worried that the longer they wait to remould his skull, the longer it will take to change shape.
"We appreciate the NHS is overstretched and we're willing to do whatever it takes to give our boy the best start in life," said Miss Whitney.
A spokesman for the Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group, which has taken over purchasing health services in Cornwall said it could not comment on individual cases.
Friends and family have helped the couple with their fundraising mission for the helmet, raising around £2,000 so far.
A quiz evening is set to be held at the First and Last Inn in Sennen tomorrow from 9pm, along with a raffle.
For more information and to support the fundraising drive, visit www.justgiving.com/woodys-head-start.
