LITTLE William Flindall was rushed into an emergency operation just minutes after he was born.

He was unable to swallow and had to have immediate surgery on his throat to keep him alive.

William was born with a rare congenital condition called Tracheo Oesophageal Fistula (TOF), which means the windpipe and food pipe are conjoined. A child born with the condition cannot swallow food down into their stomach.

The national charity, Tracheo Oesophageal Fistula Support (TOFS), is celebrating 25 years of supporting families with an awareness week this month, and parents of children like William are telling their stories to highlight the rare condition and give reassurance to other families.

Although parents Nick and Alison Flindall, from Holt, were devastated by the news that their second-born would face a lifetime battling with his food, Mr Flindall, a dentist, knew a little about the disease because his work colleague's son also suffers from it.

The one-in-3,000 babies affected need intensive neo-natal care before corrective surgery, normally within days of their birth, and can spend many months in hospital.

William received excellent care from staff at St Michael's Hospital in Bristol. Alison and Nick were daunted by the task of caring for their son but received help and support from TOFS, a charity which offers guidance and advice to families affected by the disease.

Mrs Flindall, an HR worker at the University of Bath, said: "It is a distressing thing for a family to go through but William is doing fine. We were very worried while he was in hospital recovering from the operation. He was looked after very well by the staff at the hospital and we are so grateful to them.

"The strange thing was that Nick knew of the disease because of his colleague's son, which was quite a coincidence. William is 15 months old now and he's doing really well.

"He's a bit susceptible to chest infections because of the disease but other than that he is enjoying life.

"He manages a range of foods but we just need to teach him how to manage food over the next few years.

"Any food that might get stuck in his throat is always a worry but the whole family helps out. Our three-year-old daughter Olivia adores him."

The family gets ongoing support from the TOFS support group. Mrs Flindall said: "The support group is fantastic. National charity TOFS helps to highlight the rare condition and give reassurance to sufferers' families."

Visit www.tofs.org.uk or call (0115) 9613092 for more information on the disease.