Super Nova shines after skull operation
A mother from Barrow has said thank you for the support she’s received after her baby boy had to undergo major surgery on his skull.
Nine-month-old Nova Florian was referred to John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, after the family noticed something wrong.
Danielle, Nova’s mother, said: “When he was five weeks old we took him to his GP as he kept being sick and I said about the shape of his head.”
They were sent to West Suffolk Hospital which diagnosed Saggital Craniosynostosis, which is when bone plates in the skull fuse prematurely. It can affect brain development and, over the long term, can cause brain damage.
Since then, Nova has been in and out of the Oxford hospital for various tests and for an operation on June 4 to correct the plates.
Mum-of-four Danielle said Nova’s journey had been hard on the whole family.
She said: “We have mentally struggled as well as keeping our heads above water financially.
“I took unpaid leave from the ambulance service and my daughters even hid school trip letters to not stress us with added costs.”
A fund-raising page was set up by Danielle and husband Chris to treat their children –son Jordan (17), and daughters Tarron (12) and Lexxis (nine).
Danielle said: “For days out or a long weekend we wanted to thank them for their support and sitting with us in hospital for hours.”
The children are making a scrapbook about Nova to help him understand in the future what he has been through.
Danielle said: “His whole little life has been about the operation and not about his milestones, so it is great what they are doing.”
Support has also come from Heidi Barzik, a mother in Germany who saw Nova’s story on the Be Brave Bear website.
The charity sends sponsored bears to children who are terminally ill or have life limiting conditions.
Danielle said: “It is amazing how she has just fallen in love with my little boy, I can’t thank her enough.”
To follow Nova’s journey on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/groups/295934937612871/ or to donate to the fund-raising page, go to www.gofundme.com/nova-florian
