'I could have died from this rare illness. Now I'm a fit teenager with a huge future'
He was the youngster who only ever wanted to be normal - and now Jacob Ferguson is a strapping teenager whose incredible transformation is about to reach another milestone.
Jacob, 17, is days away from surgery which will complete his fightback to full health, three years after having an operation to insert a metal bar in his chest.
He will have the bar removed in an operation on April 9 at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, and that’s because it has achieved its aim of stopping his heart from being crushed.
His mum Rachel Ferguson, from Houghton-le-Spring, said: “To look at him now, I can’t believe the difference in him. He’s changed from that skinny, funny looking lad into a muscly six foot man.
“He could never have achieved what he has done if it was not for that operation. His heart was being crushed.”
Jacob is a student at East Durham College and is considering becoming a design engineer when he completes his studies.
His internal organs only had 1.5 inches of space. It left Jacob unable to join in activities with sisters Hollie and Eve Ferguson and brothers Isaac, Benjamin and Joel Brown.
Doctors told him not to exercise as it could cause his heart to overwork and could potentially be deadly.
The Bradley Lowery Foundation also took on Jacob’s cause. As well as fundraising, it campaigned for the surgery procedure to be put back on the NHS.
Surgeons put metal bars in Jacob’s ribs. Over time, the bars pushed the sternum outwards to improve the depth of his chest and that eased the pressure on his organs.
The family have thanked everyone who supported Jacob’s journey.