WHEN little Taylon Wilson was born with a slightly bigger head than most babies his parents could never have imagined what lay ahead.

However, within weeks Kath and Andy Wilson soon discovered that their son would need a life-changing operation due to a rare condition, in which the bones in his skull had fused together.

And on August 29 Taylon, at 18 months old, underwent a seven-hour surgical procedure which involved removing his skull in order to reshape it to give him the best possible chance of a normal life.

The condition, known as craniosynostosis, affects around one in 2,500 babies and can cause learning and speech difficulties in addition to the irregular skull shape.

“After he was born people were saying they thought his head was an odd shape though at first we didn’t think it was anything,” says Taylon’s mum Kath, from Haydock.

“In the end we went to get him checked out and got a referral to Whiston hospital and were told he needs major surgery.

“It caused us a lot of stress and an awful lot of worry. They said that one in 2,000 die during the operation and even though that’s not many, you don’t think about the 1,999 that survive.”

Having waited until he was 18 months old, the day finally came on August 29 with Kath and husband Andy there alongside Kath’s oldest three children Terri, 16, Tanisha, 15 and Tia, 13.

“They stressed on the day that one in 2,000 die and said that taking the skull off is the most dangerous part, and was the main concern.

“They took him down at 10am and rang up at 1.30 to say his skull was off. It was mixed emotions that he was alright but knowing that his skull was off at that moment.”

At 5pm Kath received the call that the procedure was over and that they could go to recovery to see him.

Taylon spent five days in Alder Hey hospital following the operation before being allowed to go home.

“It was a massive relief afterwards. I can’t stress how good Alder Hey were, Mr Duncan and his team did a fantastic job,” added Kate, 36.

“We want to raise awareness of this condition for others whose babies suffer from it.”

And Taylon’s dad, Andy is also going to do a fundraising bike ride next March with all proceeds going to the neurology ward at Alder Hey as a thank you for their excellent care.

“He looks completely different now and they lowered his hairline by two centimetres. He still has to go for speech therapy but this has given him a much better chance and it will also help so much with his self esteem.”