THE parents of cerebral palsy sufferer Jack Pike are celebrating good news at last after they found out their son could have a life-changing operation sooner than they thought.

The three-year-old, of Penhill , suffers with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, which means the muscles in his legs do not work properly – but an op known as Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy could enable him to walk unaided.

The operation, which was only available in America until last year, can be carried out at Bristol’s Frenchay Hospital, but the family have been waiting for doctors to decide if Jack would be suitable for the operation and if the NHS would fund it.

In preparation, the family began fundraising to pay for the operation, and have already raised enough for the procedure, which costs about £24,000 to fund in the UK.

This week, the family were told Jack could have the operation early next year, although they have to pay for it.

Mum Kylie, 25, said: “We went to see the surgeon at Great Western Hospital last week for Jack to have his tendons cut, but while we were there the surgeon told us that Jack was a suitable candidate to have the Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy operation and I was just so shocked, I couldn’t believe it.

“It was the first time we have been told that he would be able to have it done, no one has ever talked to us about it before. “We originally thought that children had to be between six and 11 to have it done, but the surgeon told us that Jack could have it done from the age of four to seven, which is good news.

“He turns four in January so hopefully things will start progressing now, everyone is really pleased with his progress.”

As well as suffering with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, Jack also suffers with epilepsy, an enlarged heart and has a mini-button feeding tube.

He gets around with the assistance of a k-walker and now has a wheelchair as well.

“Now he has got a wheelchair, he is mad on it,” said Kylie.

“We went to Legoland and he was wheeling himself everywhere on it, he loves it.

“I think he is getting much more used to his condition as he gets older and he is doing really well. “Originally we were told that he wouldn’t be able to be potty trained, but one day he saw his brother doing it and he said he was going to do it too.

“He’s at nursery now and he is doing really well there. Apparently he is the most popular child there and next September he will be going to Abbey Meads School – we have had to make sure the class is suitable for him to move around freely, so everything is progressing well.”

The family are continuing to fundraise to pay for the physiotherapy that Jack will need following the operation. To support them, visit the Tiptoes2Footsteps page on Facebook.