Hello, thank you for visiting my JustGiving page for Oliver.

Oliver, my now 10-year-old son, was born premature, at 34 weeks, and has had major birth complications. He was born with a condition called Complex Gastroschisis.

Part of Oliver's intestine was starved of blood, resulting in a large portion of his bowel having to be removed immediately after his birth. He spent the first year of his young life in hospital with his health being touch and go. Doctors were not confident that he would survive.

Luckily, Oliver did survive, but this condition has led to him being registered as disabled.

Amongst a host of ailments, Oliver suffers from Short Gut Syndrome, a lifelong 'invisible' condition causing Malabsorption, a difficulty in the digestion and absorption of nutrients from food affecting his growth and development. Having only a portion of bowel, or in Oliver's case only having half of his bowel - can be fatal for infants and children as it impacts other organs as they do not develop properly.

SBS (Short Bowel Syndrome) can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on how well the small intestine is working - as it cannot absorb enough water, vitamins, minerals, protein, fat, calories, and other nutrients from food.

In recent years, Oliver has gone downhill with issues ranging from bowel bleeding and anaemia requiring iron transfusions - to name a few. The illness means that one day is never the same as another. An issue causing huge problems with a young boy who is so desperately wanting to fit in and just be the same as his healthy peers.

Whilst appearing to be a normal courageous boy on the outside, Oliver has required constant medical attention throughout his life with repetitive hospital visits and re-occurring and ongoing complications having affected his overall health picture. Oliver's daily symptoms include bloated stomach, headaches, fatigue, issues with emotion and concentration, body pains, dehydration, anaemia, hunger, and issues with stamina during physical exertion.

The despair for me as Oliver's mother and his immediate family and those close to him is also taking its toll on us, as life cannot progress in any meaningful manner as no two days are ever the same.

Oliver cannot continue his current care path, provided by the NHS.

Whilst I am eternally grateful to the NHS for their help so far and through no fault of the dedicated staff that work within it, as mother, I now find myself fighting an ever increasingly sluggish health care system that is struggling to provide Oliver a proactive care plan in order for him to move from being a victim in a response led system to a winner in a pro-active structure that could set Oliver up for his best possible future.

I am desperately hoping crowdfunding will help us to take Oliver to a private children's medical specialist we have identified in London, who can initially, provide a costly and risky colonoscopy procedure to identify why Olivers bowel is continuously blocking up now which has been the opposite all his life.

The latest complications mean it is now crucial for a colonoscopy procedure to take place without delay. It is not only costly, but also fraught with danger as his bowel could collapse. There will be other tests and procedures, equally as costly needed, before any intervention can take place - hence my last resort to reach for crowdfunding.

The worry for me is huge, further amplified because to-date even medical staff have not fully appreciated the gravity of Oliver's illness, partly because it is invisible, and he appears to be a courageous boy who doesn't play on the fact that he is sick.

The private specialist skills are an urgent and necessary step forward for Oliver now!

They will be able to signpost a course of action - quickly - to provide a clear roadmap and treatment plan to provide Oliver with the ability to finally reach his own full potential, given the poor health circumstances he finds himself in.

I want to thank you for taking the time to read about Oliver's situation and I want to assure you that every contribution, no matter how little, will help in our journey to enrich Oliver's life. He is courageous and is the last person to want other people to feel sorry for him, but due to his young age, he does not yet fully understand the gravity of his illness and what it means for him looking ahead.

Thank you again!

Nicole and Oliver