A 5-month-old boy suffered multiple broken bones when the family dog jumped off a bed and landed on him — and his parents now suspect the tot might have a serious underlying medical problem.
Theo Bonnick, who lives in Dover, England, was rushed to the William Harvey Hospital after the pooch fell on him in June, MyDover reported.
“It was early one morning and our dog jumped off their bed and landed on his arm,” the baby’s grandmother, Cheryl Sheppard, told the news outlet. “He was screaming and screaming and my daughter and son-in-law rushed him to hospital.”
Theo suffered fractures to his rib and wrist, and doctors also discovered that he has a bowed leg.
His parents, Lauren and Donovan, fear that their boy suffers from a severe bone disorder due to the extent of his injuries after what appeared to be a relatively innocuous incident, according to MyDover.
Sheppard cited another episode that landed her grandson in the hospital.
“When he was 2 weeks old, Theo was suffering with jaundice and had to be blue-lighted to the William Harvey again. They had to bend his wrist slightly to put the cannula in,” she said.
“He gave this blood-curdling scream, which the paramedics tried to assure us was normal. But one of the fractures he was later found to have was on his wrist and we think it might have been when it happened,” Sheppard said.
“We don’t blame them — it’s just he seems to have really weak bones,” she added.
Theo’s parents — who have a second child, a healthy 2-year-old named Kayden — are convinced the 5-month-old has a severe bone disorder and muscular weakness because he can’t straighten his back.
The boy, who also was found to have a very low parathyroid hormone, was referred to a specialist for possible osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic bone disorder, but his parents were told his physical appearance doesn’t fit the criteria, MyDover reported.
“Theo has always had these knobbly bones and just looked different,” Sheppard said. “He’s been back and forth to the doctors a few times … he’s not been putting on weight.”
She said the family “are in bits and need clarification,” though the National Health Service is not willing to pay for genetic tests because doctors ruled out osteogenesis imperfecta.
The NHS did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
“He’s got quite a few of the symptoms and his dad has a family history of bone disorders,” the grandmother said. “It’s frustrating. There’s obviously something wrong and we want him to get the treatment for it.”
