Surviving in a safety helmet, the little boy with half a skull

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Like any three-year-old, Tom Trueman is constantly at risk of taking a tumble.

But in his case every fall could prove fatal - which is why he wears a safety helmet every waking moment.

Tom, who has already had ten operations, had half of his skull removed after a hospital infection attacked most of the bones in his head.

He has astounded doctors with his progress since but, as his everwatchful parents know, a knock from a fall or a glancing blow from a stray football could cause permanent brain damage or prove fatal.

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Safety first: Three-year-old Tom in his safety helmet

That is where the cushioned helmet, made from shock-absorbing foam, comes in. It reduces the risk of brain damage by 90 per cent, despite weighing less than a bag of sugar. Without it, Tom would have only skin and his fine blond hair to protect him. Tom was born with

Apert's Syndrome, a genetic condition which affects one in 65,000 babies and stops bones developing normally.

He will be wearing the helmet for at least another year before doctors can assess the level of growth in his skull.

Whatever happens, he is almost certain to need a series of operations to reconstruct his head until he stops growing in his late teens.

All of which has left his parents, Andrew, 37, and Wendy, 27, constantly on their guard.

Mrs Trueman, of Swinton, Manchester, said: "No matter what I'm doing I always have one eye on him, looking out for danger.

"Every step is a risk assessment and there's no way we would allow him near kids having a kickabout.

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Devastated: A computer image of Tom's skull after the infection

"It's always at the back of your mind what could happen, but you can't think about it because we would never have a life. His brother and sister know they have to look after him too and now he's so used to his helmet he won't get out of bed without putting it on."

When Tom was born, the bones in his hands and feet were fused leaving him with no toes or fingers - which is a common problem for Apert's sufferers.

Soft 'growth points' in his skull were also firmly joined, stopping his head from growing.

He had the first of his operations at a cranio-facial unit in Oxford at the age of four months to relieve the pressure on his brain.

But another operation, last December, almost killed him. An infection around the pins holding a titanium plate in his head led to the loss of more than a third of his skull.

Eight months on, however, Tom has amazed doctors after 10 per cent of his bone has started to grow back. Steve Wall, his consultant plastic surgeon at Oxford's Radcliffe Hospital, said:

"I don't know of any other cases of regrowth. Tom is not just surviving, he's doing very well, but we won't know how long he has to wear his helmet for - that depends on how much of his skull re-grows."

Mrs Trueman said: "The doctors have said there is no one in the world they know of that has lost that much of his bone and survived.

"Tom is such a strong-willed and good-natured little chap. That's what's helped him through. When he smiles your heart just melts."

Now Tom, who has to sleep in a bed with a guard to stop him falling out, attends a special school where teachers can care for him. But his mother hopes that one day, helmeted or not, he will be able to follow half-brother Sam, nine, and half-sister Kayleigh, eight, to ordinary junior school.

 

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