We are so excited that our very own Kellie Burke and her family were featured in the local news last week.
The two-minute TV news segment is about her infant son Benjamin. He had a short-term condition called “Torticollis” that led to plagiocephaly or “flat head syndrome,” which requires him to wear a helmet.
“We are very fortunate and thankful that our pediatrician, Dr. Gretchen Black at Heartland Primary Care, diagnosed Benjamin, or little ‘Coop,’ at such a young age,” Kellie said. “We were able to start physical therapy when he was 11 weeks old in attempt to reduce any further flattening.”
“The helmet, all white, stood out and caused a lot of stares. The color and pattern options were very limited and lacked character,” Kellie said. So she contacted a local company, Chux Trux, for help creating a custom vinyl wrap for the helmet.
Kevin, manager at Chux Trux, replied to Kellie’s request with an excited “Let’s do it!” and was eager to start drawing up the design. He even emailed Kellie a preview on a Saturday night.
Chux Trux transformed the plain white helmet into an old-fashioned football helmet!
Kellie and her husband are very thankful for the creative help from the company.
“I could tell that [Kevin] cared, and we are very thankful for his kindness,” Kellie said. “He helped give Benjamin a little flare! After having the awesome vinyl wrap applied, passersby approach us with compliments and questions about his condition rather than blank stares. A kid asked us if his ‘cool helmet’ was for riding on a motorcycle!”
In just one more week, the family will be visiting Drew Schieber, with the Hanger Clinic, for (hopefully) Benjamin’s last appointment and putting his helmet away as a keepsake!
That is so wonderful. When Lauren DuCharme’s brother was little with special needs, we wanted to find him a small helmet because he had coordination issues. No such luck then. Really cool story.