Pop Buzz UK

David and Victoria Beckham’s son Romeo has epilepsy, it was claimed yesterday.
According to the British Sunday newspaper The News Of The World, Victoria revealed her son was suffering from the condition when photographers tried to take some shots of him.
Posh and Becks were said to be devastated when specialists confirmed their four year old boy had epilepsy.

The report states that “The frightened youngster reacted violently after being photographed at Heathrow last Saturday as he returned to Britain from Madrid with Posh and brothers Brooklyn, seven and Cruz, one.�
“Initially, he shielded his eyes against the flashes as his mother pushed him through the terminal building in his buggy and out to a waiting car�.
“He then started screaming in terror and lashing out with his legs as one photographer pressed his camera inside the car and started flashing�.
This was enough to make former Spice Girl Victoria reveal the truth about her son’s condition, shouting at that moment “Leave him alone, He’s got epilepsy. All that flashing will start a fit. You can’t do that!�

There had been reports for a couple of years about Romeo’s health scares, with the kid having been rushed to hospital four times in three years after suffering fits. At first thee were thought to be febrile convulsions, but it now seems as though epilepsy has been confirmed.

Again, according to the Sunday Tabloid The News Of The World, Romeo’s godfather Sir Elton John has been a tower of strength through the ordeal. Elton is a sufferer of the same condition and so has been able to offer advice and tell them how to cope.

Epilepsy can be fatal in extreme cases and the Beckhams are rightly concerned for their middle child’s well being. But how on earth are the most photographed celebrity family in the world going to protect him from camera flashes when the paparazzi constantly surround every element of their lives?

Irish Health today has an article debunking the report with severe criticism being meted out by Brainwave, the Irish Epilepsy Association.
Their chief executive Mike Glynn described the language in the article as “appalling� and “totally sensationalist�. He goes on to point out that only 3-5% of people with epilepsy have photo sensitive epilepsy which would be susceptible to flickering lights, flash photography and strobe lighting.

He told irishhealth.com “It is not clear from the article whether Romeo has been diagnosed as having photosensitive epilepsy. While it is correct to say that seizures can be fatal, it would be most unusual for someone to die in the circumstances outlined in the article“.
He said that the article “will only add to the worry of the very small number of children in Ireland whose epilepsy is photosensitive“. “The article only serves to add to the stigma around epilepsy. Its lurid, scare mongering language will only serve to make people scared to reveal that their child has epilepsy, although they will be heartened to realise that this condition can happen to anybody’s child“.

Whatever the truth, It seems the paparazzi will have to be more careful and conscientious from now on when trying to get that all important exclusive photo of the Beckham family for a Sunday Newspaper’s front page.

David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Romeo, Epilepsy, Paparazzi