Aaron Chalmers’ ex-girlfriend, Talia Oatway, has shared the first photos of their son Oakley as she discussed his rare genetic syndrome and described the toddler’s strength.
The couple, who share two more children, announced their separation in December, four months after their youngest was born with serious health problems.
After keeping his diagnosis private, Talia explained that Oakley, aged 7 months, was born with Apert syndrome, in a heartbreaking update shared this week.
After his birth, Aaron and Talia revealed that their “little soldier” would “go into surgery for 18-24 months,” while his mother would remain by his side.
In a brave caption, the influencer described the “toughest seven months of her life” and praised her son for his courage and determination, after finally “making things right.”
Brave: Aaron Chalmers’ ex-girlfriend Talia Oatway has shared the first photos of their son Oakley as she discussed his rare genetic syndrome and described the toddler’s strength
Bad: The couple, who share two other children together, split last year, four months after their youngest was born with serious health problems
The health service describes Apert’s syndrome as “a type of complex craniosynostosis affecting the skull, hands and feet,” where bone fuses together before birth.
‘The facial bones are also affected, because the cheekbones and upper jaw grow out of proportion to the rest of the skull. The bones around the eyes are wider apart and shallower than normal, causing the eyes to bulge outward.”
Talia shared a series of photos from the hospital cradling Oakley in her arms, another sweet photo showed him smiling broadly with a stuffed monkey.
She wrote, “This is OAKLEY. It’s been the toughest 7 months of my entire life. I’ve been thrown into a medical world with no advance warning, no time to prepare.
Only now do I feel like I’m going to face it all, finally deal with how I feel and embrace our new normal.
“This is my beautiful son Oakley Bleu, he was born with a rare genetic syndrome called Apert Syndrome.
‘Apert’s syndrome causes the premature fusing of sutures in the skull, resulting in a different shape of the head. Syndactyly – fusion of the bones in the hands and feet). A cleft of the hard palate causes problems with eating and speaking.
Choanal stenosis (narrowing of the airway) causing difficulty breathing. Apert syndrome often causes global developmental and learning delay. (Oakley sleeps on a ventilation mask) and uses oxygen.’
Split: After his birth, Aaron and Talia revealed that their ‘little soldier’ would undergo surgery for 18-24 months, while his mother would remain by his side (pictured together last year)
Journey: After keeping his diagnosis private, Talia explained that Oakley, aged 7 months, was born with Apert syndrome, in a heartbreaking update shared this week
Difficult: The NHS describes Apert syndrome as ‘a type of complex craniosynostosis affecting the skull, hands and feet’, where bones fuse together before birth
Fun: Talia shared a series of photos from the hospital cradling Oakley in her arms, another sweet photo had him smiling broadly
Talia continued, “Oakley has a long road ahead, this is a lifelong journey and it won’t be easy. But my boy, you showed me how strong you are!
“You are brave and determined and I love you more than you will ever know. I hope by sharing our journey I can raise awareness and support other medical families.
“I am so proud of this boy, he has shown me that nothing in this world is more important than health and love. It’s taken me a long time to get to where I am now, but I’m finally starting to feel happy again.
“Son, you have two wonderful brothers and a wonderful big sister behind you. We really have everything we need. Let’s do this,’ she concluded.
Aaron and Talia share Romeo, two, and Maddox, 22 months. While Talia is mother to daughter Siennah from a previous relationship.
After a slew of arguments between the couple, it was reported that Talia has moved out of their family home following the breakup in December.
A rep for Aaron confirmed to MailOnline that the couple have split.
In August, the couple opened up about going through a ‘difficult time’ when their son Oakley was born with health issues – meaning the tot will requires surgery for the next 18-24 months.
Aaron then took to his Instagram stories and talked about his son’s condition and revealed that his partner Talia required maternal-fetal meds during the pregnancy.
Aaron also noted that he and Talia were a “whirlwind of emotions” after a rough few days for the family.
She wrote, “This is OAKLEY. It’s been the toughest 7 months of my entire life. I’ve been thrown into a medical world with no warning, no time to prepare”
Parents: Aaron welcomed Oakley with the influencer in August, alongside Romeo, two, and Maddox, 22 months. While Talia is the mother of Siennah from a previous relationship
Difficult: After his birth, the couple opened up about going through a ‘tough time’ as the toddler would need surgery for the next 18-24 months
Fetal medicine, also known as perinatology, is described as “a branch of medicine that focuses on managing health problems of the mother and fetus prior to, during, and shortly after pregnancy.”
Speaking to his followers, Aaron explained, “Unfortunately there are a few issues with the baby.
“We’re in fetal medicine for most of the pregnancy, then we got approved, unfortunately it didn’t get approved and didn’t pick up on the scans, so little bubba will probably be in and out of surgery for the next 18 months to 24 months, so it’s just me and Talia facing it all.’
While Talia simply said, “It’s been a long and hard few days, I couldn’t have done it without my husband Aaron.”