Donors help baby with helmet treatment
Donors have stepped in to help a Melkbosstrand baby who needs a special helmet fitted to treat a skull deformity.
Four-month-old Sloane Kruger has asymmetrical plagiocephaly, a condition that causes a baby’s head to become flat or misshapen due to consistent pressure on one area.
Sloane’s mom, Colette Kruger, says she is grateful to all the donors, including people from her community and the Marian Rose Foundation non-profit, for their support.
Sloane’s aunt, Tania Innes, created a BackaBuddy crowdfunding campaign two weeks ago to help raise the R38 000 needed for the helmet, as the family’s medical aid did not cover this cost.
To date, donors managed to raise R13 300 through the campaign with the non-profit offering to cover the balance.
Charne Schoeman, the Gardens-based orthotist and prosthetist who diagnosed Sloane, said the cranial orthosis, or helmet moulding therapy, would help to correct the proportion and asymmetry of the cranial bones before they fused.
Sloane and her twin sister, Blake, were born on September 3 last year at Blaauwberg Hospital.
Ms Kruger, a single mother, noticed that Sloane’s head was significantly bigger than her sister’s and the baby was immediately sent for a scan to see if there was any fluid on the brain.
This Friday, January 24, Sloane will go for further testing to see if it's suitable to have the helmet fitted.
“These tests are to make sure that there is no fluid or growths in the open space,” said Ms Kruger.
“I cannot thank everyone enough for their contributions. To each person who shared or liked the post and those who donated towards the cause. Thank you so very much.
“With everyone's contribution, we were able to get Sloane the helmet and the costs of her follow-up visits to follow, which will be every second week.”
