Baby’s brain occupies 5% of massively enlarged skull—after multiple surgeries, he’s unrecognizable

©YouTube Screenshot | Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

A soon-to-be mom and dad learned of their baby’s abnormality before he was born but they refused to give up on him. The parents’ faith and hope led to this amazing result after the surgery.

According to the Marietta Daily Journal, Ryan and Crysie Grelecki from Marietta, Georgia, United States, came to know that their unborn son, whom they named Parker, would be born with an enlarged cranium and hydrocephalus, meaning he would have excess fluid in his brain. When he was born on Sept. 9, 2008, his head was almost twice the size of an average newborn.

“He was basically born with no brain and a rather large cranium,” Ryan said. At the time, they were unsure if Parker would survive.

After he was born, he was transferred to another hospital for treatment. Ryan was amazed at the staff of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “I don’t think people recognized how special a children’s hospital is and how necessary that is. We had experiences at an adult hospital and they didn’t know what to do,” he said. “We had to travel … back to Atlanta so that they could do what needed to be done and give him the treatment he needed,” he said.

©YouTube Screenshot | Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

According to Newsner, Parker was able to return home two weeks after the surgery to drain the excess fluid from his skull and relieve the pressure. Four weeks later, he started his physical therapy.

He was able to sit and keep his head up after a while and started walking, skipping the crawling stage for babies, his mother, Crysie, said. With his recovery, he was described as a “brave child” by the doctors, while Crysie said he was a “chatterbox” and a “loving child.”

©YouTube Screenshot | Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Parker now has a head full of golden hair and wears glasses, looking so totally different than when he was born. The parents are surely thrilled and thankful for making the right choices!

Born with craniostenosis and hydrocephalus, Parker underwent surgery, during which doctors placed a shunt in his brain to drain the excess fluid, allowing it to grow and develop naturally. When Parker was 6 months old, doctors began a series of craniofacial surgeries to correct the skull malformation. By the time he was 20 months old, Parker had undergone seven successful surgeries at Children's and was on his way to recovery. translating to Russian language