A family is currently fundraising to send their child abroad for life-changing surgery after he "started to deteriorate."
Mum Rebbecca Jones, 43, from Greasby, is currently fighting to get her son the life-changing surgery he needs with his condition deteriorating for the past six years. Her son Joseph, now 12, was a gastroschisis baby, meaning he was born with his bowels on the outside of his stomach.
His condition presented him with potentially life-endangering problems from the day of his birth. However after essential surgery which saw much of his bowels removed, Joseph grew to be a "normal toddler" with "chubby cheeks," who was able to eat properly and go to nursery.
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However, things took a turn for the worse when Joseph was four. Rebbecca told the ECHO: "He was doing really well and everybody was happy.
"But then he slowly started to deteriorate. He started vomiting, he started losing weight and he was unable to gain any at all. The vomiting got worse and worse. He'd come in from school exhausted. He couldn't lift his head from the pillow.
"He deteriorated to a point where he was extremely sick, with a huge swollen tummy and he was just really unwell."
It was 2014, the year Rebbecca and Joseph's dad Peter would marry. Though the couple spent the year taking Joseph "back and forth to Alder Hey."
Soon Joseph was on TPN, an intravenous infusion which provides nutrients directly to the bloodstream for those who cannot absorb them from the food they eat.
He had been on TPN since, and has had around 18 surgeries in six years as he has attended school. Though TPN keeps him going in the present, it does present a looming problem for his wellbeing as it damages the liver by causing a build up of fat.
Rebbecca said: " When it hits that point - and God willing it’ll never end up there - we would be in dire need of a liver transplant or a bowel transplant, the outcome of which is very uncertain."
The future could be brighter for Joseph, a Liverpool FC fan, if he is able to get essential surgery to have his bowels reconstructed. However, it would take a trip to Italy to a specialist hospital to have this done.
Rebbecca, an oncology nurse at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, said the family was in luck when they met a doctor from Manchester willing to help arrange the surgery. The doctor also waived personal fees for him and the Italy clinic, however, the family still needs to make up the rest of the funds for the surgery.
Rebbecca said: "We need to find the money for this to happen, we fully understand that times are hard, and will appreciate every penny raised, because every penny will count."
Anyone wanting to learn more about Joseph's story, or who wishes to donate whatever they can towards the family's costs, can find the fundraiser on GoFundMe here.
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