'The real life Pinocchio'

Ollie Trezise, from Maesteg, Wales, was born with a rare condition which caused his brain to grow through a crack in his skull into his nose.

The 21-month-old has been forced to undergo several painful operations to help him to breathe and close the gap in his skull.

But his mother, Amy Poole, 22, said the brave youngster has been bombarded with cruel comments from strangers.

One even said he 'should never have been born' while other taunted him, calling him 'ugly.'

'It's absolutely heart-breaking,' said the full-time mother-of-two. 

'Once, a woman told me I should never have given birth to him. I nearly burst into tears.

'To me, Ollie is perfect. He is my little real-life Pinocchio and I couldn't be prouder of him.'

Miss Poole first discovered that something was different about Ollie at her 20-week scan when doctors told her he had unexpected soft tissue growing on his face.

However, she was still shocked by his condition after giving birth to him at the University Hospital of Wales in February 2014.

Miss Poole, who has since split from Ollie's father, 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.' 

In Ollie's case the sac had grown on his nose, causing it to stick out.

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.

'But doctors explained that he was at risk of contracting an infection or even meningitis if he tripped and knocked his nose – so I agreed to the surgery.'

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.

His mother said: 'After the operation, Ollie had a huge zig-zag scar across his head. He must have been in so much pain, but he just kept smiling and laughing.

'His positivity made it so much easier for me.'

Now fully recovered, Ollie is a bubbly little boy who loves splashing in his paddling pool and playing with his four-year-old sister, Annabelle.

Miss Poole said: 'He is such a character and always has me in fits of laughter. Plus he and Annabelle are best friends – they're always getting up to mischief.

'Annabelle is even jealous of Ollie's nose as it gets him lots of attention. Sometimes I catch her grabbing it when she thinks I'm not looking.' 

(dailymail.co.uk)