A Lincoln mum is appealing for a further £6,000 in donations to help with her baby boy’s life-altering surgery, which will create a soft palate for her child, giving him a roof to his mouth.
Thomas Sykes has a unilateral left cleft lip and palate which, without treatment, could cause him speech, eating and hearing disorders and problems growing teeth later in life. It was at a 20-week scan when his cleft lip was detected and the palate issue was discovered at birth.
Catherine Sykes, Thomas’ mother, decided to go private because of the backlog of operations in the NHS, which meant that Thomas, who was born on July 31 last summer, might not have been treated until August this year. She was advised that in the time it might take for an operation to come up, he could go deaf.
The first operation was at a private London hospital on December 2. This created cosmetic improvements to baby Thomas’ mouth which now has a sealed top lip, reconstructing his nose and also creating the back of his palate.
Catherine fundraised £10,000 for the initial operation, and is grateful for donations, but now needs £6,000 to make up a total of £10,000 for a secondary, more vital, procedure – donate to the fundraiser here. The date for the second operation is potentially April.
Whilst Thomas was undergoing surgery Catherine described what she went through. She told The Lincolnite: “I felt absolutely awful. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever had to go to. I had to take him to hospital at 7.30am and stay overnight. He was dressed in a cute little gown, which the hospital let me keep. I bent down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.”
“It was a great outcome, I have lots of faith in the surgeon, he was brilliant at his job, but you have all these statistics which means you can’t prepare yourself until it actually happens.”
Thomas four days after his successful first operation
Catherine explained that Thomas looks: “What people would define as ‘normal’, but the second operation will be more important than the first and will affect him for the rest of his life, as it deals with the interior of Thomas’ mouth and throat. Now the outside is completed, the soft palate, or roof of his mouth, needs to be constructed.”
Catherine told us that Thomas also has two uvulas, the fleshy profusion at the back of the throat, meaning that he has at present no gag reflex. This will be treated in the second operation.
Thomas the night before his surgery and the day his nose shaper was removed
Catherine said that in the second operation there will be a harder recovery and Thomas might not be able to drink from bottles straight away.
Thomas and his mum, Catherine Sykes, could celebrate Christmas with one large operation out the way
Thomas is described as “a very happy baby who is very smiley and loves his sister a lot.”
In other news, Joaquin Phoenix, who has a microform cleft, or small cleft lip, will be filming in Lincoln, starring in Ridley Scott’s new Napoleon biopic, in the coming weeks.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The final in the latest series of road closures for works on the A1, as part of the Grantham Southern Relief Road project, has been temporarily postponed
A weekend northbound A1 closure was due to be in place between 8pm on Friday, May 20 and 6am on Monday, May 23.
However, Lincolnshire County Council said the closure has been temporarily postponed and once new dates have been confirmed they will be shared.
Works on phase three began in April this year, with the council anticipating that winter 2023 will be the completion date for the relief road.
This will be with the view to reduce congestion and carbon emissions, and provide opportunities for growth in the local economy.
The £102 million Grantham Southern Relief Road project has been led by Lincolnshire County Council, supported by South Kesteven District Council, Highways England, Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Network Rail, Homes England, the Department for Transport and local business contributions.
Safety improvements have been carried out at corner where numerous accidents have occurred in East Keal.
The council is looking into what else can be done to prevent motorists from coming off the road at Hall Corner, while police are looking into the possibility of fitting a speed camera.
A cement lorry recently overturned on the corner in February.
Lincolnshire County Council has found a slight dip in the road where Blacksmith Lane meets the A16 could be the reason why heavy vehicles travelling at excessive speed are tipping over.
It is considering whether to smooth out and realign the road, but says it is concious of the impact that closing the A16 would have on traffic and local businesses.
Several safety improvement measures have already been put in place, including ‘slow’ markings, enhanced bend warning signs and improved chevrons.
Problems have been found with the road surface on the corner. | Photo: Google Street View
Lincolnshire Police are assessing whether a speed camera on the corner would be beneficial, and will be taking speed readings in the coming weeks.
Larger barriers and longer safety fencing have been proposed by the public. However, the county council says that in order for it to be big enough to withstand the impact of overturned vehicles, the cost can’t be justified.
Either the local parish council or the country council could also explore whether to fund a reactive speed sign on the location.
Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “We are very thankful to the residents and members of the parish council who have given us their ideas and support in what can be done at Hall Corner. Local knowledge and personal feedback are cornerstones of what we do in terms of delivering the best solutions in the most informed way.
“There has already been much done at this bend to try and mitigate the issues faced and we now have more planned for this particular area that will go on to encourage all road users to drive accordingly in line with the road and conditions.
“I would like to thank everyone involved so far for their input. We will all work together to get the best resolution we can for Hall Corner.”
Whatsapp
