Back in July 2023, Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims welcomed their first child, Crew Sims Koepka, who arrived six weeks early. While the Koepkas were over the moon, Crew had a bit of a rocky start, spending his first days in the NICU. By August, though, he was off oxygen, breathing on his own, and starting to take a bottle. But the time spent mostly lying on his back left Crew with a common condition known as Flat Head Syndrome, combined with torticollis, which made it necessary for him to wear a corrective helmet.

Earlier this year, Sims gave fans an update on TikTok, sharing that Crew’s head was rounding out nicely, thanks to the helmet. Now, there’s even better news as Crew has finally ditched the headgear! Celebrating the moment on Instagram, Sims posted a series of stories showing Crew enjoying the New York City skyline from his home’s window, now, helmet-free.

In another story, Crew was out exploring Times Square, looking adorable in just a regular hat. Sims wrote, “Major milestone though, Crew got to see Times Square for the first time!!!” The cheerful mother even captured a shot of the retired helmet captioned “I love NY” engraved on it. This special engraving marked an important moment for the family. To celebrate Crew’s progress, she added Brooks Koepka’s team name, Smash GC, to the white helmet. She said that she added the name because Koepka’s team won the LIV Golf Las Vegas, and it was a sweet reminder of the victory.

For the Koepkas, it’s undoubtedly a gigantic sigh of relief as their child can finally move forward without the helmet, just like any other child. This little guy has had quite the journey already, but this isn’t the only thing Jr. Koepka had to deal with.

Brooks Koepka’s son faced early challenges after his premature birth

While Crew has made significant progress in overcoming Flat Head Syndrome, that hasn’t been his only hurdle. Sims previously shared that, alongside the headgear, Crew also needed extra support through a pelvic harness. His premature birth led to a condition called Hip Dysplasia, where the thigh bone doesn’t fit properly into the pelvis, causing instability and potential pain.

Significantly, Crew had to wear a Pavlik Harness to help keep his hip joint stable while still letting him move around. But, in a video previously shared by Sims, little Crew finally got to take his first big stretch as the harness came off. Now 14 months old, Crew is growing fast and hitting milestones left and right.

With both the harness and helmet now behind him, the Koepka family couldn’t be more optimistic about seeing him thriving and enjoying life free from those early limitations.