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Chorley baby operation drama
A child from Chorley is preparing to undergo major surgery his family hope will give him the chance of a normal life.
When Wallace Fyfe was born he seemed perfect – but his parents knew there was a problem.
Wallace, who lives in Ingol Close, was born with a rare condition, sagittal synostosis scaphocephaly, which can cause brain damage.
It means the bones at the top of Wallace's skull are fused together and his brain cannot grow in the normal way.
If untreated, Wallace could lose his speech or ability to walk.
Now, the 13-month-old faces a five-hour operation which involves taking apart his skull.
His mother, Jill, who also has a daughter, Tia, six, wants to raise awareness about the condition and is taking part in a fundraising walk on May 1.
She says doctors in Portugal failed to diagnose her son's problem when he was born but the 28-year-old moved her family back to Chorley in September, where doctors quickly found out what was wrong.
"They did a CT scan and right away they knew," she said.
Jill, from Chorley, moved to Portugal eight years ago where she met husband Stuart, 29.
Although Wallace is healthy now, he could suffer as his brain grows.
Jill, who is training to become a teaching assistant, said: "We were devastated when we found out. He's an amazing little baby.
He walks, talks, runs and does everything he should for his age.
But if we didn't operate he could end up with brain damage."
The operation is due to take place on May 21 at Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Before that, he and Jill are doing a sponsored eight-hour walk, dubbed 'Wallace's walk for a brighter future'.
To donate visit www.justgiving.com/wallaceswalkforabrighterfuture.
Have you got an insprational story to tell? Contact Karl Holbrook on 01257 264911 or email karl.holbrook@lep.co.uk.
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Weather for Chorley
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
