‘Pinocchio boy’ mocked for his nose: but look at him 3 years later after his surgery
When Amy Poole first got a glimpse of her son, she was shocked to see the tiny baby with a nose that looked a bit different from what she was used to seeing.
In a 2015 interview with the Daily Mail, the mother said she “almost couldn’t speak.” But after a few moments with her baby boy, she knew that she would love him no matter what: no matter what the world threw their way, no matter what he looked like, no matter what people might say. Amy knew she would always love her son.
The boy, who was named Ollie, was born with a condition called ”encephalocele”. A rupture in his skull had caused his brain to grow through a hole in his head and through his nose.
The condition is extremely rare, only 1 in 10,000 children in the United States are born with this defect every year.
Despite his unusual appearance, Amy did what any mom would do — she loved her son unconditionally.
It didn’t make any difference what people, family or friends said or which obstacles would come in her way: Amy was determined to put her son above everything else.
Over the next nine months, as Ollie’s body grew, so did his nose – just like Pinocchio.
Doctors told his terrified mother that they needed to operate on him to open up his nasal passage and enable him to breathe properly.
‘I was so scared to let Ollie undergo such major surgery. He was so fragile, and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him,’ she said.
In November 2014, he underwent the successful two-hour operation at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
The surgery involved cutting open his skull to remove the excess sac of brain fluid and rebuild his nose.
Due to the rarity of the condition, treatment is only available at Birmingham and three other specialist centres in the UK: Great Ormond Street, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and The John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
All operations went well, thanks to some incredibly skilled surgeons. Today, at 3-years-old, little Ollie is doing well.
Amy also has a message to all who comment on her son’s look:
“I do not want other children to receive the kind of comments Ollie has and I think the best way to combat this is by educating people. I would rather have people asking why Ollie looks like he does, instead of just telling me he is ugly or pointing and staring.”
What a beautiful family, with great values and strength despite cruel comments and stares!
Please SHARE if you agree beauty comes in all forms, and that we should learn to embrace what makes us different instead of shaming it!
Source:
en.newsner.com
littlethings.com, dailymail.co.uk
