Victoria Beckham has ordered the paparazzi to stop
taking flash photographs of her four year old son, Romeo, because he¡¯s recently
been diagnosed with epilepsy and she's worried the flashes could spark a
seizure.
Romeo Beckham |
Romeo's illness emerged after the family
was ambushed by photographers at Heathrow airport last weekend. Romeo, who had
been warned about the danger, first hide his eyes with his hands before Victoria
picked him up to hold his face against her body.
According to the News of the World, the worried mum yelled at the
photographers to "leave him alone. He's got epilepsy. All that flashing will
start an epileptic fit. You can¡¯t do that!"
A source told the paper: "Romeo was very distressed. He hates flashes going
off because he knows what they can do to him. Normally he just shields his eyes
but this was right in his face. There was nowhere for them to go."
"Victoria was really scared and tried to shield him. She was furious. That's
why she yelled out - anything to make them stop and think about what they're
doing to him."
A source close to the family in Spain told the paper that Romeo was diagnosed
after suffering from a number of seizures and convulsions during his short life
to date: "They have told friends the situation. While it's heartbreaking, he is
being brave."
"They are devastated - worried sick about Romeo. He is on medication to
control the seizures but obviously things like flashing lights can trigger one
at any time."
"They can only hope the medication limits the number of fits he suffers to a
minimum and he can enjoy as normal a life as possible. Epilepsy affects a great
number of people and many grow out of it. They are just praying Romeo gets
better."
Epilepsy affects approximately 50 million people worldwide and is usually
controlled through anti-convulsant drugs. There are several different types of
seizure, ranging from short absences (where the sufferer appears to just stare
into space for the duration) to tonic-clonic seizures involving full body
convulsions as muscles repeatedly severely contract and release.