The teenager who fought back after a huge operation

Three months ago, Jacob Brown could barely get out of bed. A rare health condition was crushing his heart.

But look at him now!

The 14-year-old is changed forever and planning to get a gym membership.

The complete transformation has left his relatives gobsmacked. They have a newly revitalised member of the family.

'He was out running and said 'Mam, I feel great'

The Echo caught up with Jacob and his mum Rachel Ferguson who said: "He is a different boy altogether. I cant believe the difference in him.

"He was running out with his friends recently and he said 'Mam, I feel great'.

Jacob himself told the Echo: "Just being able to run is amazing. To do it without getting any pain is unbelievable."

Back in March, Jacob went to London for a £15,000 operation to stop his heart and lungs from being crushed.

It worked wonders. In fact, the results were stunning.

'The whole thing has gone perfectly'

Rachel said surgeons have monitored her son to see if there were any clicks coming from his chest, or if the metal rod which was inserted was sticking out at all.

None of that has happened. 'The whole thing has gone perfectly,' said Rachel.

A bright future lies ahead.

Jacob is currently doing his mock GCSEs at East Durham College and then deciding whether to go into the Army or into an engineering career.

His heart and lungs were crushed

But just as importantly, his health has been transformed.

'His heart and his lungs have got room to do what they need to do," said mum.

Jacob was diagnosed with the condition Pectus Excavatum which meant his rib cage was growing inwards and causing the sternum to sink into his chest. There was just 3.5 inches between his sternum and spine.

This was putting extreme levels of pressure on his internal organs, and particularly his heart and lungs.

So much support across the North East

But his family has launched a fundraising plea to try and get the £10,000 needed for Jacob to have surgery - and the campaign also won the support of both the Washington company Peak Body Nutrition as well as Sunderland Echo readers.

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 to stop his internal organs from being crushed.

Over time, the bars pushed the sternum outwards to improve the depth of his chest, and that freed the pressure on his organs.

Still time to give your support

Jacob's caring sister Hollie, 19, set up a GoFund Me page to pay for the operation and the family held events in their local community to raise awareness and much-needed funds.There are still funds needed for the surgery and those interested in donating to Hollie and Jacob’s fundraising efforts should visit the GoFundMe page at https://gofund.me/59b61f9a