Canberra baby Lucy Deerson looked like a boxer when she first came out of surgery, unable to see out of two swollen black eyes, but it was soon clear to her family that her life was now on a much better path.
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Sixteen month old Lucy had surgery on March 6 to change the shape of her skull, correcting the condition she was born with that could have led to many complications later in life.
Babies are usually born with gaps in their skull, that gradually are filled as they grow, allowing the brain to develop. Lucy's skull didn't have any gaps, and was fused in one piece, a condition called craniosynostosis, which could lead to behavioural problems, learning difficulties or even blindness as she grew up. For Lucy, it meant her brain was growing forwards and backwards, in a football shape.
Now, apart from a zig-zag scar from ear to ear that will soon be covered by her blonde hair, it would be hard to tell that Lucy is different from any other 16 month old baby.
The Deerson family, including dad Peter, mum Julie Akmacic and two year old big brother Max, travelled to Adelaide at the start of March for Lucy to have the life-changing surgery. While Peter and Max were only there for the surgery, Julie and Lucy stayed for three weeks of recovery. They stayed at Ronald McDonald House, which Ms Akmacic described as "amazing".
During the surgery at the Australian Craniofacial Unit, the top of Lucy's skull was removed, and the sides were cut at regular intervals, as well as the "bullet" shape at the back of her head being removed.
"What's extremely remarkable is there's no plates, no screws, nothing [holding her skull together]," Ms Akmacic said.
"It's all as is, her brain is pretty much exposed, but what is protecting her brain is the dura and skin."
Because Lucy is so young, she will be able to generate new skull bones, a process that can take between three and 18 months.
Ms Akmacic said the difference in the shape of Lucy's head was noticeable straight away.
"Her head is perfectly round," said. "She looks the way she was supposed to have looked without the birth defect. Her head looks like her brother's now."
Importantly, the difference isn't just in how Lucy looks.
"She's less clumsy," Ms Akmacic said, describing how Lucy had fallen over three times in the lead up to the surgery.
"She's started to say a few more words. I don't know if that's a coincidence or letting her brain take its natural form."
While the Deerson family will take extra care to protect Lucy's head, Ms Akmacic said they are able to treat her like any other growing baby.
Ms Akmacic started a Facebook page to track Lucy's progress, and to draw attention to the condition after struggling to get a diagnosis even though she knew something was wrong. Through the Facebook page, and since talking to Fairfax Media, she has been in contact with families who have already been through the surgery, as well as meeting a local family in the lead up to their baby having the same surgery.
"I'd like to say a big thank you to the craniosynostosis support page on Facebook, because of the shared experience through that I wasn't afraid through the whole process, I wasn't scared. It really did bring me some comfort that what she was experiencing was normal."
