IT’S an unseasonably cold and foggy morning and the little boy is cooped up inside, using the couch as his play ground and clambering all over it, five boisterous dogs in hot pursuit.
Nathan van Aswegen calms down only when his gran Selona van Wyn gaard allows him to watch the animated movie Boss Baby on her phone – a rare treat for the energetic threeyearold.
We’re meeting the little boy and his mom, Soné, at his grandparents’ home in Roode poort, Johannesburg.
In most respects, Nathan is a normal little boy, a whirlwind who keeps Soné (20) busy from morning to night. But life has had its challenges for the tot. He was born with webbed toes on his left foot and his family soon realised his foot was growing faster than the rest of his body.
When we visited Nathan for the first time nearly three years ago, his left foot was considerably larger than his right (YOU, 17 August 2017). Soné had been told it was the result of Milroy disease, a condition that causes lymphatic fluid to build up in a limb, resulting in extreme swelling.
But the family were relieved to discov er soon after our visit that Nathan didn’t have Milroy disease after all – if he had, it would’ve affected him for the rest of his life. Instead an MRI showed a benign fat ty tumour was growing into the tissue of his foot.
Since the new diagnosis Nathan has had five operations to shrink the mass, and all his toes – which used to look like deflated little balloons hanging off his hugely swollen foot – have now been amputated.
But Nathan’s doing well, Soné says. He runs around and is inside today only be cause of the weather. “He’s not usually this attached to the phone,” she adds.
Denne historien er fra 9 January 2020-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 9 January 2020-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST
With more and more of us struggling with our mental health, here's a common-sense guide to coping with life's ups and downs
SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES
John van de Ruit tells us why he decided to write a sequel - and shares how his first book helped him find enduring love
SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG
A Cape Town couple have been charged with using a young woman as a sex slave-but some say she lost the job she signed up for and now has a grudge against them
LIAM LAID TO REST
More than a month after One Direction singer LIAM PAYNE (31) tragically fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his loved ones finally got to say their goodbyes.
SHILOH HANGS OUT
THE two young women look like any pair of good friends chatting and laughing as they leave their dance class in Los Angeles.
LEO IN LOVE
He's just turned 50 and it seems Leonardo DiCaprio may finally be ready to settle down
PACKING A PUNCH
Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it
I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD
As the illegitimate daughter of the king, she fought to be recognised as part of Belgium's royal family, but Princess Delphine says she still feels unwelcome
'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'
A bite from a spitting cobra 13 years ago nearly killed her but Mikayla survived - and she's made peace with her scars
THE CLAWS ARE OUT!
Things have grown frosty between the Beckhams and the Sussexes as Becks comes out in clear support of William