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While he was still in the womb, Lorenzo Pantone of Huddersfield in England was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a rare condition which causes fluid to build up in the skull and causes the brain to swell severely, according to Medical News Today.
But the little boy is getting stronger each day.
When his mother, Nichaela Lewis, was 20 weeks pregnant, doctors advised her and his father, Fernando Pontone, to consider terminating the pregnancy, Examiner Live reports.
"The doctor said there was a good chance he could be still-born or be blind, deaf, have seizures constantly or not move,” Nichaela (28) said.
The parents say they considered the advice but decided against it.
"In the end, we just didn't think it was fair," says Fernando (33). "He was halfway to being born.
“He had arms and legs, and a face. We couldn't kill him. We just didn't think it could happen to us. The other five kids [we have] were all not complicated.”
Although he has to be fed through a tube, Lorenzo continues to defy the odds.
After two weeks of not being able to close his eyes, he’s finally able to open and close them on his own and continues to make small improvements every day.
To help maintain the medical care, his parents set up a GoFundMe page. They had a target of £1 000 (about R19 000) which they reached.
Any money now donated to the family will be split between the neonatal unit at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and the Forget Me Not Hospice.
Nichaela says the staff at LGI hospital have been "fantastic". The couple hope to move Lorenzo to the hospice when he’s discharged from LGI, before eventually bringing him home.
Cause of hydrocephalus
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flows through your brain and spinal cord in normal conditions, according to Heathline. Under certain conditions, the amount of CSF in your brain increases. The amount of CSF can increase when:
· A blockage that prevents CSF from flowing normally develops
· There’s a decrease in the ability of blood vessels to absorb it
· Your brain produces an excess amount
Too much of this fluid puts your brain under excessive pressure. This pressure can cause brain swelling, which can damage your brain tissue.
Sources: Medical News Today, Healthline, GoFundMe, Examiner Live
