Robbie ovenstone and sisterChloe
A BRAVE “bionic boy” is looking forward to the best Christmas of his young life.
Robbie Ovenstone, six, suffers from a painful brain condition which causes muscle spasms and means he spends most of his time in a wheelchair.
But after surgeons planted electrodes in his brain, he is able for the first time to join in many of the festive activities other children his age take for granted.
His dad Dougie, from Kirkcaldy, said: “Robbie is now opening up his own Advent calendar, which he wasn’t able to do before without help.”
And he’s looking forward to playing with the toys he’ll get at Christmas like any other child.
Robbie suffers from child onset dystonia, which muddles electronic signals from the brain, causing his arm and leg muscles to twist.
He needs help with tasks such as feeding and dressing – but now his life is being gradually transformed thanks to the pioneering surgery he underwent at King’s College Hospital in London.
The six-hour operation involved implanting two electrodes into his brain. They are connected by wires leading from his skull to a battery, which needs to be recharged for 15 minutes each day.
Dougie , 46, and his wife, Jane, 37, are delighted with their son’s “miraculous” recovery.
The former telecoms worker, who is now a full-time carer for Robbie, said: “The day after his operation, he was sitting up in the bed playing games and he can now develop muscles he’s not used for years.”
But he admitted the bionic implant raised eyebrows, saying: “We get some strange looks when we say we’ve got to go and ‘charge’ Robbie.”
Since being “switched on” after his operation, the P2 pupil at St Marie’s Primary in Kirkcaldy is now able to walk on his own around the house and play with his sister Chloe, four, and brother Rhys, 15.
Dougie said: “He is joining in with his brother and sister when they are playing, whereas before he used to watch them.”
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