A 21-month-old boy whose brain grew inside his nose has been described as the ‘real-life Pinocchio’ by his proud mum.
The adorable little lad, Ollie Trezise, was born with a rare condition which caused his brain to grow through a small crack in his skull into his nose.
As the boy grew, his nose did as well – forcing him to have undergo a series of painful operations to help him to breathe.
But sadly, his mum, Amy Poole, 22, says her son is now subject to horrible comments from strangers, who say he’s ‘ugly’ and ‘should never have been born’.
Speaking to The Mirror, the mum-of-two from Maesteg, Wales, described it as ‘absolutely heart-breaking’ when she hears the dreadful comments. But said Ollie was ‘perfect’ and ‘couldn’t be prouder of him’.
Amy first discovered that something was up after he 20-week scan, when doctors explained to her that he had soft tissue growing on his face. Despite these early signs, she was still rather shocked when she gave birth to him in February last year.
She said:
When they gave me Ollie to hold, I was so surprised that I almost couldn’t speak. He was so tiny, but there was this enormous golf-ball sized lump on his nose. At first I wasn’t sure how I would cope. But I knew that I would love him no matter what he looked like.
An MRI scan later revealed that the lump was an encephalocele- a defect that causes the brain grow through a hole in the skull. In his case, the sac had manage to grow on his nose, making it stick out.
Doctors told Amy how they needed to operate on Ollie to enable him to breathe, but she was terrified that the major surgery would kill him. But she warned that he could contract an infection or meningitis if nothing was done.
So in November 2014, Ollie underwent a two-hour operation at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which proved to be a complete success.
He was left with a zig-zag scar, but Amy explained that he kept smiling and laughing despite the obvious pain, she said: “His positivity made it so much easier for me.”
Now fully recovered, Amy is eager to spread awareness of the rare condition, so other children can be prevented from bullying, saying: “I don’t want other kids to face the nasty comments that Ollie has, and I think the best way to combat this is by educating people.”
She added:
I’m terrified that he will be bullied at school. But he is such a lovely boy that it’s impossible not to adore him. I think he is absolutely perfect the way he is. There is nothing wrong with being different. He is my special little Pinocchio, and I will never stop loving him.
This is literally one of the sweetest things ever.
