Two-year-old Carson Lees from Marfleet has Congenital Pseudarthrosis (CPT), a rare bone condition causing weak bones prone to fractures
A two year old boy from Marfleet is recuperating following surgery after spending a year living with a broken leg. Carson Lees has Congenital Pseudarthrosis (CPT), a condition that causes weakened bones which are highly susceptible to fractures.
Shortly after he was born, Carson developed an unstable “false joint”, meaning a break was ultimately inevitable. Initially, medical professionals believed Carson had a positional birth defect that could be corrected through movement and physiotherapy.
However, in June 2025, his parents, Carter and Courtney, were woken by agonising screams coming from their son’s bedroom. His leg had fractured and, following numerous tests and hospital appointments, he received a diagnosis of CPT.
Courtney said: “He would’ve been about 14 months old and we woke up and he was absolutely screaming in pain, so we ran into his bedroom. You could clearly see his leg was visibly broken. We rushed him to AandE and they didn’t really know how to deal with it. The Dr in AandE said we’ll put a cast on it. We got home and thought everything was fine, it would heal within 6 weeks. The consultant who had been seeing Carson phoned and said they’d heard Carson has been in AandE, and they think it’s what they call an impending fracture. It basically confirms that it was CPT.”
However, surgery couldn’t proceed until Carson reached two years old, and he spent the previous 12 months in a clamshell cast which required replacement as he developed. The complex limb reconstruction operation lasted more than five hours and, despite the procedure, there’s no certainty Carson’s leg will properly heal, reports Hull Live.
His mother describes him as a cheerful wee lad who manages to find ways of moving about, though he occasionally gets frustrated watching what his nursery pals can do.
Courtney said: “He had to wait for the surgery when he turned two. He had a broken leg for a year on the day of his surgery. 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. I think he gets bored and fed up when he sees what other kids do in nursery.
“He’s had it since he was born and it’s all he’s ever known. It was a waiting game for a year and he had to get his clamshell updated whenever he grew out of it. Now it’s just a waiting game. It may break again, and we could try surgery again, but with that comes more risks. It could pose more risk to the leg. If we don’t choose to get the surgery again we are possibly looking at amputation. Fingers crossed it heals.”
Carson is currently recuperating from his operation and delighting in enjoyable pursuits, such as bowling, alongside his family. He continues using a wheelchair while his leg mends.
Throughout his stay at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, his favourite treat was getting a babycino, or “nino” as he calls it, from the hospital café. Courtney remembers the moment he fractured his leg while merely playing in his cot, explaining she “knew instantly” something was gravely amiss.
She said: “It was just like you were in a different world, like it wasn’t real. You’re expecting to wake up and it’s a normal day. We woke up to him screaming, and immediately you think ‘what’s wrong?’. You could just tell straight away something wasn’t right. Usually we’d get him out and give him a cuddle, but he was laid flat in his cot and you could see how much he was in distress.
“The consultant told us it’s an impending break. Some children with the condition are born with it already broken. It affects people differently, sometimes it can be as they start putting weight on it. They’ve said it will do that in the future. Even if the bone graft works, he’s not going to be able to participate in active sport. It will just break again. It’s just so weak.
“We’re just trying to keep him as busy as possible. He’s not allowed to weight bear and we’ve got to keep him as still as we can. We’ve bought him all new toys that he can sit and play with, without him having to go to them. We took him bowling for the first time the other day in his wheelchair. He had his little ramp and he really enjoyed that. The hospital is so amazing, just lovely people overall who put you at ease. They try to not let you stress and worry. We wanted to do some fundraising for them.”
Courtney and Carter are eager to show their gratitude to Sheffield Children’s Hospital, where Carson underwent his operation, as well as the British Limb Reconstruction Society charity. The couple plan to participate in a series of fundraising activities throughout the summer.
Further information is available at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-carsons-congenital-pseudoarthrosis-journey.
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