A brave toddler from Marfleet spent an entire year with a broken leg because doctors could not operate until he turned two. Carson Lees, now two, has Congenital Pseudarthrosis (CPT), a rare skeletal condition that causes weakened bones highly susceptible to fractures. He was just 14 months old when his leg snapped in June 2025, jolting his parents Carter and Courtney from sleep with agonising screams. “You could clearly see his leg was visibly broken,” Courtney recalled. “We rushed him to A&E and they didn't really know how to deal with it.”
Initially, doctors had believed Carson suffered from a positional birth defect that could be corrected through movement and physiotherapy. But when the fracture occurred, a consultant phoned the family after learning about the A&E visit. “They think it's what they call an impending fracture,” Courtney said. “It basically confirms that it was CPT.” The condition had already caused an unstable “false joint” shortly after Carson was born, making a break inevitable.
“Toddler Carson Lees spent a year with a broken leg due to rare condition CPT before surgery at age two.”
Because of his age, the limb reconstruction surgery could not go ahead until Carson reached two years old. For the next twelve months, he lived in a clamshell cast that had to be replaced each time he outgrew it. “He had a broken leg for a year on the day of his surgery,” his mother said. “But he is literally not bothered. He finds his little ways to get around – he bum shuffles and walks on his knees. He's really resilient.”
The operation lasted more than five hours. Even after the procedure, there is no certainty Carson's leg will mend properly. “It may break again, and we could try surgery again, but with that comes more risks,” Courtney explained. “If we don't choose to get the surgery again we are possibly looking at amputation.” Despite the uncertainty, Courtney describes her son as a cheerful little boy who occasionally becomes frustrated that he cannot do what his nursery friends can. “He's had it since he was born and it's all he's ever known. It was a waiting game for a year. Now it's just a waiting game.”