Talia Oatway's son Oakley has 22nd operation in major health update
Talia Oatway's son Oakley has undergone his 22nd operation - a major step in his ongoing health journey.
Talia Oatway's son Oakley has a life-saving port implanted in his chest after undergoing his 22nd operation.
Medics can now deliver vital fluids and medications directly through the port when needed by Oakley, four, who was born with Apert Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes fusion of the skull, hands and feet bones.
Taking to her Instagram Stories this week, Talia, 34, who has Oakley with her 39-year-old ex-partner, Geordie Shore alum Aaron Chalmers, posted a shot of herself kissing the tot on the cheek in hospital, with the caption: "Operation yesterday went well.
"The port is now in place. This is what it has come to now with Oakley having CVS and not great access due to his veins now. Oakley never had CVS until he had meningitis in 2024. It’s still something we are learning about.
"I always got told Oakley may have 2-4 head surgery’s and probably 2 hand surgery's.. this was operation 22!
"I'm so grateful to all the apert parents who reach out regularly to us and give us advice on this journey (sic)."
According to the National Health Service (NHS), CVS (cyclical vomiting syndrome) is "a rare condition that causes severe episodes of feeling sick (nausea) and being sick (vomiting)".
Earlier this month, Talia revealed she rushed Oakley to hospital after he was vomiting blood and "green liquid".
In a TikTok video, recorded from hospital, she explained: "What a b***** night and day we’ve had. So two o’clock this morning, Oakley’s been vomiting since.
"Basically the back story is, Oakley had some PH testing done in hospital where they put a little device, attach it to the esophagus and you have to follow him around for two days with his bag, and you can’t be more than two metres away from him."
Talia then said the "little device should have passed through the bowel" during the procedure, but the following morning, she found it in his bed while he was "covered in green sick".
The influencer added: "So I phoned the hospital, and they said, 'You need to bring him down.' So I brought him down; he’s been vomiting ever since we got here.
"Oakley’s got a peg, so a feeding tube, in the belly; they attach a bag to the peg so instead of him vomiting orally, it’ll come out through the bag and through his belly, and it was just pure green and blood. It was horrific."
Talia went on to say that doctors sent Oakley for a stomach X-ray to check his bowel after one doctor warned the "little device could have damaged some part of the bowel or the esophagus, or the intestines".
The little one needed to have another X-ray to "investigate more before they decide if they need to go through a surgery route to see what's going on".
Talia said: "I just don’t know what’s going on; it’s just horrific.
"He has been so lethargic all day, and he can't move. He's so flat, but I'm really hoping that, obviously, a night of fluids and sleep because of last night, and then, hopefully, once he's got this second X-ray out of the way on the same part that he's had the first X-ray on, will give him more information."
She added: "I just feel like it’s one thing after another for this baby, and I feel so sorry for him. It’s just awful."
As well as Oakley, Talia has sons Romeo, six, and Maddox, four, with Aaron, and 13-year-old daughter Siennah from a previous relationship.
