Young hero faces up to his future

Jason Crombie, who suffers from a rare condition resulting in facial and skeletal deformities had a tough decision on whether or not to go ahead with an operation that would give him a new face. BBC documentary Storylines followed his difficult journey

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In most ways 10-year-old Jason, from the village of Plean in Stirlingshire, is like every other boy of his age.

He has a loving family, and is happy at school, where he does well in class and is warmly accepted by his many friends.

Jason Crombie decided to under-go major facial surgery

But Jason, who was born with facial and skeletal deformities due to a rare condition - oculo-fronto-nasal syndrome, attracts unwelcome stares and it makes his life tough.

Last year he made the brave decision to not only undergo a gruelling 12-hour operation to re-structure his face, but also to let a television crew film the weeks leading up to his operation, as well as his recovery.

May 2007 was an exciting time for Jason, who won the Daily Record's Young Hero award and attended the glitzy ceremony with his parents, Frank and Liz, and sister Samantha.

In the limelight

The recognition meant a lot. His mother explains: "He's never been in the limelight, and he's never had anything in his life for what he's been through. This was a big thing for him."

Watching their nine-year-old walking towards the stage to receive his award was an emotional moment for his parents, who have often found supporting their much-loved son emotionally trying.

When he was born, doctors and nurses didn't know quite how to react.

"People kept coming in and hugging me, telling me how sorry they were," remembers Mrs Crombie.

At first she wasn't even sure if she had the strength to care for him. It took two days before she was brave enough to ask to see him in hospital.

But on seeing her son, she immediately bonded with him. "I still don't know what made me change my mind, but by jings I'm glad I did it," she says.

When I was younger people used to call me monster and all that and alien. But now I just get stared at. Jason Crombie

After five weeks doctors confirmed he had not suffered any brain damage and his parents were over-the-moon.

Over the years they have supported him through the various challenges of his condition, but it hasn't been easy.

"I always try to be strong but there's only so much strength that you have," says Mr Crombie.

It's been hard on Jason too. Though in the warm and supportive environment of his primary school he has been accepted by both friends and teachers, he has had to get used to the points and stares of other people because of the way he looks.

"When I was younger, people used to call me monster and all that and alien," he says. "But now I just get stared at.

"You get that annoyed because every single kid that goes past always stares at me."

Future surgery

A fear of the reaction he might get when he went to high school was one major driving force behind his decision to under-go the complicated and lengthy operation at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in June last year, during the summer holidays.

He just wanted, he says, "a normal face".

After a sleepless night, he set off for hospital with his parents, anxious and upset about the thought of what lay ahead.

The operation was a success and just a week later, after having celebrated his 10th birthday in hospital - "the best birthday ever" - he was home with his relieved family.

Unfortunately, the result was not quite as dramatic as Jason and his family had hoped.

"It's not exactly that I'm not happy," says Jason. But he admits that while he now finds it easier to eat because of surgery around his mouth, he would also have liked doctors to do more work on his nose, and even up his hair line.

He is now debating if future surgery is worth the emotional stress that comes with it. "I want to see what high school is like and see if the kids bully me before I decide to get the operation," he says.

"If they do I'll probably get it. But if they don't I'll probably just leave it.

"I'm just a normal person inside and it doesn't count what is on the outside - it's the inside that counts."