The skull is one of the most important parts of our skeletal system for it protects the brain. For babies, missing even a tiny part of it during their development inside their mother's womb can be very fatal.
Through God's grace, however, a baby with this condition who was expected even by his own parents to die right away after being born is thriving, able to cry and move around.
The baby, William Reidhead, was born last May 17 with a condition called cutis aplasia, where the back part of his brain is covered not by a hard and steady skull, but a delicate and thin membrane.
William's parents, Ben and Alyssa, were initially told at 23 weeks into the pregnancy that the child had the rare condition called encephalocele—where the skull doesn't close properly causing the brain to grow outside the skull. They thought they were just going to know whether their baby was a boy or a girl at that point.
"We were going in for one of the happiest times of our lives and come out walking like we just heard the worst news we could've ever heard," Ben was quoted as saying in a report on LifeSiteNews.
The couple was told that their child would probably die inside the womb, or just survive a few minutes after delivery. Instead of preparing for the joyful coming of their child, they were filled with fear and started planning for a funeral.
"Almost scared of having the baby come, not because we didn't want him to come but just because we were afraid of losing him," Ben shared.
"We picked out a casket and we picked out what we were going to do," Alyssa added.
To their surprise, William cried like a normal, healthy baby upon delivery.
"We heard a cry and that made me cry and him cry because we were like, 'Oh he's crying",' Alyssa recalled.
"He's not hooked up to anything," she said, describing her son. "He's breathing fine. He's lifting his head. He's moving around. He's pretty much acting like a completely normal baby."
Although doctors are still determining how to cure her baby's condition, Alyssa shared that she and her husband are very thankful for every second the Lord allows them to spend with their child.
"Because of this I was humbled to understand that Heavenly Father is William's Father before Ben and I are his parents," she said in her blog.
A Go Fund Me page has been created for baby Will to help the Reidhead couple in providing for the special needs of their newborn. The couple say any help extended them will be highly appreciated.
