Mom's superhero ‘Ninja Turtle baby’
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A Florida infant was born with a rare skin condition -- a growth on his back. The baby was dubbed “little Ninja Turtle” by his parents as the growth resembled a “turtle shell.”
19-months-old James McCallum's rare condition even puzzled the doctors. Ultrasounds did not reveal anything about the baby’s condition before he was born on August 19, 2021, according to James’ mother Kaitlyn McCallum.
Kaitlyn and her husband Tim became worried when they noticed the baby’s back was scabbing (become encrusted) and developing lumps.
Looked kind of like a birthmark
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“It looked kind of like a birthmark but scabbed over in parts — it was a little concerning, as it looked like something was wrong,” Kaitlyn told South West News Service, as quoted by New York Post. When the mark grew his parents took him for tests.
“The doctors didn’t really know what it was at that point,” Kaitlyn recalled. “It covered 75% of his back at the start, and it had started to get fattier and more lumpy.”
Trouble in sleeping
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James’ lump grew rapidly and it became difficult for the baby to sleep on his side.
“[It] had become like a turtle shell on his back,” the mom explained. “He couldn’t put his head down flat because it was so bulky.”
First surgery
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An MRI was conducted on the baby’s brain and spine to check whether the nevus (a benign growth on the skin) was growing internally. Fortunately, there was no internal growth and the parents started the process of getting this growth removed. James had his first surgery to remove the nevus in February 2022.
Growing the good skin surgically
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James’ parents connected with a specialist in Chicago and decided to start tissue expansion in September 2022. This involves growing the good skin surgically.
“You can do the expansion process from home,” Kaitlyn said. “The expanders are placed under the skin by the doctor and then we injected them with saline once a week and it slowly expands the good skin which replaces the nevus.
“He’s so much happier and more comfortable, and we’ll just be happy to get all of it gone by the summer,” she added.
Read more: Toddler develops skin infection after being bitten by iguana who stole her cake
'He’ll be able to tell a cool story about it'
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Once the process is over, James will be left with minimal scarring. “Having this removed will give him the best quality of life. He’ll be able to tell a cool story about it and say it’s a shark bite or something,” Kaitlyn said.
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