Meet Ollie Trezise. A beautiful 21-month-old boy from Maesteg, Wales with a condition that has made him one of the most adorable babies you will ever lay your eyes on.
Ollie has encephalocele, a condition that causes his brain to grow through his nose. The baby boy has been dubbed a real-life Pinocchio by his mother, Amy Poole, but not everyone has seen him that way.
Poole, 22, is sharing her son's story to raise awareness about his condition, which has caused bullying by not just children, but adults as well who have called the boy, "ugly." I don't know what they're smoking, but clearly we have very different versions of what's adorable.
Poole first noticed the condition during her 20-week ultrasound. Doctors noticed an unexpected growth of soft tissue on the baby's nose. Even with some preparation, it was still a surprise when he was born with a large lump on his nose in February of 2014.
"He was so tiny, but there was this enormous golf-ball sized lump on his nose," she told Mirror Online. "At first I wasn't sure how I would cope. But I knew that I would love him no matter what he looked like."
Ollie then had an MRI, where doctors confirmed that he had a rare condition: encephalocele. Due to a crack in his skull, Ollie's brain continued to grow in a sac through his nose. As Ollie continued to grow over the next nine months, so did his nose.
The condition can cause severe problems, including developmental delay, buildup of fluid in the brain, difficulty walking and seizures. It effects about one in 10,000 babies born in the United States, or about 375 each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Usually, the brain grows in a sac at the back of the head. But with Ollie's brain growing through his nose, the condition also disrupted his ability to breathe. So naturally, doctors told Poole they needed to operate.
"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," Poole 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." The result of the surgery was amazing.
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