Arlington ? Kade Swepston stood on the bathroom counter, admiring his hair in the mirror.

The smiling 2-year-old appeared pleased with his spiked-do that was growing taller by the day.

An observant child, Kade recently told his mother, Amber Allbright, that he was getting taller.

But, what’s growing is the skin, in two places on top of his skull. That’s where balloons are inflating because of the 20 ML of saline solution injected behind his ears twice a day.

Kade Swepston admires his hair in the bathroom mirror as his mother, Amber Allbright, looks on at their home in Arlington. The skin on the top of Kade’s head is being stretched by balloons filled with saline solution, in preparation for a skull surgery next month.

By May 10, there will be 320 ML in the balloons and Kade’s skin will be stretched enough so he will be ready for five and half hours of reconstructive surgery, which should allow his brain to grow normally.

Within hours of his birth on Oct. 25, 2007, Kade was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, a condition where the newborn has no soft spot on the skull.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke’s Web site describes the condition as “A birth defect of the brain, characterized by the premature closure of one or more fibrous joints between the bones of the skull before brain growth is complete.

“In contrast to normal skull growth, in which the skull expands uniformly to accommodate the growth of the brain, this condition promotes growth in other parts of the skull where sutures remain open.”

Growing pains

When he was 6 months old, Kade underwent surgery where an ear-to-ear incision was made on his skull, to relieve the pressure that was building. After that the infant wore a helmet 23 hours a day, which was supposed to help mold his skull. But, it didn’t work.

For now Kade’s growing brain goes where it can find room inside his skull, and currently is putting pressure on his optic nerve, causing him to go blind in one eye. Plus, the pressure gives him migraine headaches.

At the moment his features are slightly uneven, with one ear higher than other, and the left eye appearing lazy. But his broad smile lights up his whole face.

He brings a visitor a favorite book to read, then hugs his teddy bear and the visitor. Then, like any active 2-year-old, he hops on his red scooter and makes his way around the room.

“He’s unbelievable, a little sponge,” Allbright said. “He absorbs everything.”

In public people stop and stare at his big head, said Allbright. But, the happy child welcomes the attention.

“He does amazingly well,” said Linda Utiger, Kade’s great-grandmother, who moved back to Arlington from Florida to help Amber care for Kade.

He copes very well, because going to doctors and living with headaches has been his life since birth. It’s all he knows, Utiger said.

Even the twice-daily injections of saline don’t bring a whimper from the child. It’s more difficult for his mom to watch. So she holds him, and they talk, as other family members inject the saline with a syringe into the ports behind each ear.

“It’s like getting ready for surgery,” Allbright said of the procedure, which includes rubbing a numbing cream behind his ears.

A promising prognosis

Kade’s condition occurs in about 1 in 1,500 births, according to his nurse practitioner Diana Graves, who is caring for him with Dr. Virender K. Singhal, at Children’s Mercy Hospital, in Kansas City, Mo.

Graves said the prognosis was wonderful, once they get through the 5 1/2 hour surgery, and a week in intensive care. There should be no long-term damage from the increased pressure he is experiencing now. In fact, the headaches should go away, and vision should improve. As he grows older he might need to wear glasses, Graves said.

Currently the frequent trips to Kansas City confirm Kade’s tolerating the procedure well, said Graves.

But, there has been a financial drain on Allbright, a 24-year-old single mom, who spends her days caring for her child.

Friends of the family are planning a garage and bake sale in May to raise funds.