Rare condition leaves baby unable to laugh or cry

A rare condition has left a newborn baby in Surrey unable to laugh or cry. Charlie Reynolds was born with a condition called vocal cord palsy, which affects only 200 babies in the UK every year.

The four-month-old was born in May to parents Sophie, 26, and Scott, 31, but needed resuscitation after he struggled to breathe, which has left him unable to make a sound.

Sophie, already mum to two-year-old Isabella said that her pregnancy was straight forward, but complications started when Charlie was born within eight minutes of her water breaking.> He emerged with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, but it was quickly removed by midwives.

Doctors noticed that little Charlie was suffering from what might have been stridor, a high-pitched wheezing noise caused by a disrupted airflow, so took him for more checks before sending him home.>But the family weren't convinced he was breathing properly, so were in and out of hospital, until he was finally given an endoscopy.

Doctors soon diagnosed the little boy with the rare condition which means he cannot make noise and the family were told that a tracheostomy - a procedure that helps the baby breathe regularly - was the only option.

Sophie explained that the entire situation has turned her, Scott and Isabella's lives upside down.>The mum, who opened a soft play centre with a café just a year ago has had to pass the business onto her mum, Karen Martyn, 58.

Scott, a plumber, is now the sole income earner for the family.>The couple had intended little Charlie to share a room in their two-bedroom first floor flat, but since the tracheostomy, he has needed 24-hour care, and the couple have had to hire a carer for five nights a week.

The couple are hopeful that his condition may improve, as 50 per cent of people who suffer from it regain the ability to make noise within two years.