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When Amy and Michael Howard from Center Moriches, New York found out they were expecting triplets, the couple was over the moon. The new parents to be were excited and while they knew generally what to expect, they were totally unprepared for just how much their lives were about to change.
As soon as Amy gave birth in October to the three boys, both she and Michael could tell right away that something was wrong with them. The newborns, Hunter, Jackson, and Caden, all had misshaped heads due to a condition known as craniosynostosis. Infants born with the condition have skulls where the bones have been prematurely joined together inside the uterus, which can lead to an underdeveloped brain and misshapen head. If not corrected early on, the malformation can possibly lead to limited brain function. The Howards thought that since the triplets were crowded in the womb, it had led to the problem, and that now the boys were out they would begin to develop normal head shapes.
Doctors who examined the babies were baffled and astounded by what they found. On average, 1 in 2,500 babies are born with craniosynostosis, but for all three triplets to have it the odds are seemingly impossible at 1 in 500 trillion! Nevertheless, the babies had it and doctors broke the bad news to the couple that all three needed surgery to correct the condition.
When the boys were just nine weeks old, they all underwent the first ever craniosynostosis operations performed on triplets. Thankfully all of them turned out well with no complications and after two days in the hospital the boys were able to go home. They still had a long road to recovery ahead and had to wear special helmets 23 hours a day, seven days a week, for six months to ensure proper skull development.
By the time Hunter, Jackson, and Caden were over a year old, they had all developed normal shaped heads. They had also reached important developmental milestones without any issues and were normal, healthy babies who had managed to overcome the condition they were born with. While the odds were astronomical and never seen before, the outcome was thankfully better than anyone could have expected!
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