An eight-month-old baby living with a two-inch deep crack in the top of his head has been abandoned by his parents and faces a race against time for life-saving treatment.
Simon Sama, from Nong Khai, northeastern Thailand, was born with an abnormally large head in January this year after doctors warned his relatives during the pregnancy to expect complications.
They operated and drained excess fluid, however, the sudden change in pressure caused his skull to collapse and fracture.
Following the deformity, Simon was abandoned by his parents and left with his grandmother, Nooplang, 48, to raise him.
Simon is in a race against time to get life-saving treatment as his head continues to swell, causing him to live ‘like a vegetable’.
An eight-month-old has a crack in the top of his head after doctors drained water from his skull
Simon was abandoned by his parents and left with his grandmother, Nooplang, 48, to raise him
He was born with a large head and doctors warned his relatives to expect complications
‘Like a vegetable’
His grandmother said: ‘Simon is just like a vegetable now. He does not make a lot of noise or crawl like other children start to do at this age.
‘We’re waiting and waiting to see the doctor again. The crack in his head looks like it gets bigger so we think there could be more water in his skull.’
Nooplang’s nephew Fern Warapoll, who also helps look after Simon, added: ‘The doctors operated the first time to take out the fluid in his head but it did not work.
‘After the operation his head had a hole in it and he was just lifeless.
Simon developed a two-inch cavity in the top of his head, as well as a crack that runs to his ear
He is in a race against time to get medical treatment as his head continues to swell
‘We don’t know if he’ll ever get better’
Mr Warapoll added: ‘We don’t know if he’ll ever get better or if he is going to get worse. The doctors don’t know either.
‘We want some doctor, somewhere, who can help. We need help to try to make his life better.’
Simon is waiting for his next hospital appointment in November to discover if more water needs draining.