Alyssha , a.k.a “Aly”, added a beautiful baby boy Aspen to her family in March, 2024

Unfortunately, Aspen has been diagnosed with Craniosynotososis. The bones on the top of his skull have prematurely fused. He needs surgery to open up the plates of his skull so that his brain and skull can grow normally.

October 24, 2024 Update: The surgery in August was successful, but the incision did not heal as fast as was hoped. It is now healed and a series of custom-made helmets are helping Aspen's head to grow normally. Trips into Toronto with big sister Aleena, now 2, start at 5am and sometimes can take all day. Sometimes they are into Toronto twice a week.

Doctors say that he’ll require more custom helmets (~$2700 each) while his head is growing quickly, so there are still numerous sizing, fitting and assessment trips coming over the next few months, and at least until he turns 1 in March. If you are able, Aly and her family would really appreciate any financial support you can provide to support them in this long journey. They are excited that the treatment is going well, but sometimes exhausted with all of the "moving parts" of providing Aspen with the support he needs to thrive.

July 19 2024 Update: Aspen will be having this surgery at the Toronto Sick Kids Hospital in August. The operation is covered by OHIP, but there are many costs related to Aspen’s recovery which are not covered by OHIP or Aly’s ATR medical plan. Because of this Aly and her family are facing considerable medical expenses in the coming year.

Originally, it was expected that Aspen would need to wear a cranial remolding helmet for about a year after the surgery and that the cost of the helmet would be about $5,000. Aly has recently met with the orthopaedic staff at Sick Kids in Toronto. In that meeting, they were advised Aspen will require a “series” of helmets—6 helmets in total, and the cost of each helmet is $2,700—bringing the total to $16,200—much higher than originally expected.

Aly’s family were also advised that they will need to bring Aspen to Toronto much more frequently than originally anticipated—every couple of days the first few weeks after being released from the hospital, and then every 2 weeks for adjustments to the helmets.

Here is where you can be of assistance. We established a GoFundMe for Aspen in early July to help Aly and Taylor deal with the uncertainty and stress of this situation. In light of the new information about Aspen's treatment, we have increased the funding goal. We hope that you are able to provide some support to them by donating as much or as little as you are able. You can donate anonymously, or identify yourself to them.

Aspen's prognosis is excellent with this treatment. He can grow normally and thrive with our support, so please think about making a donation.

Thank you from Aly and her family if you have already contributed.