Little Oliver Austin is looking forward to Christmas, despite facing major heart surgery in the New Year.

Although he suffers from a potentially fatal heart condition which has led to the narrowing of vital arteries, the five-year-old, of Kingfisher Green, Greater Leys, Oxford, is full of festive good cheer.

Oliver has already spent much of his short life going in and out of the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, for treatment and check-ups.

His condition - supravalvar aortic stenosis and peripheral pulmonary stenosis - has been caused by a genetic disorder.

This leaves him breathless, and he can not lead as active a life as his friends. In 1996, world-famous heart surgeon Stephen Westaby used parts of the membrane surrounding Oliver's heart to rebuild damaged arteries in a seven-hour operation.

Regular scans at three-month intervals showed his heart and arteries were coping, but in March, Oliver's mother, Charmaine, 29, noticed he was suddenly becoming tired and listless and had lost some of his spark.

Doctors said he would need further surgery, and last month he was booked in for an operation, which aimed to stretch the heart by inflating a tiny balloon in the arteries. But it was not successful.

Now, Oliver must wait until February for another operation when special wire will be inserted into the heart to widen the arteries. Charmaine said: "Oliver is a real fighter. He has been through so much but he takes it all in his stride.

"This has been a very difficult and worrying year. We have been through a lot but I always try to stay positive and think about how lucky we are.

"Oliver and his sister, Jessica, are looking forward to Christmas and we are all very hopeful about the surgery in the New Year."

Oliver is due to start at Windale First School, in Oxford, next month.

Story date: Thursday 23 December

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