HIS family feared he might never walk unaided.

But now two-year-old Abe Astur faces a bright future thanks to a lifechanging operation in the USA.

He suffers from spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy which made his leg muscles very tight, restricting his movement and forcing him to use a walking frame.

It meant that while other children his age were running around, jumping and climbing, he was under close adult supervision, unable to walk between rooms independently.

But his family spent the last year raising £50,000 to pay for the operation, selective dorsal rhizotomy or SDR, which removed much of the spasticity, meaning he will be able to walk normally after physical therapy.

Mum Leigh, of Twyford, near Winchester, said: “We are thrilled it went well. It’s now a case of building up these muscles that Abe has never used before and we are pleased we went through with this as it was the right decision.

“His surgeon thinks he will walk independently within six months of the procedure and will be able to participate in recreational sports in the future. This is the best prognosis a parent could wish for.

“Abe has been amazing. The surgery was tough and we spent a week in hospital in St Louis, Missouri, as part of a month out there. But because he is so young he didn’t fully understand what was going on and he accepted everything and handled it very well.”

Leigh, 35, added the family had no choice but to go to the USA as the procedure is not widely available in the UK.

She said: “This procedure should be more accessible and medical people should be more knowledgeable here. It’s something we should be telling parents about here but they aren’t because it’s difficult to get it funded. We have been talking to [Winchester MP] Steve Brine about taking this issue to Parliament and he has been a fantastic help.

“It makes my blood boil to think children have grown up with difficulty when they could have had this operation. Hopefully between us we can change just one child’s life by alerting people to this procedure.”

The family, including Abe’s dad Gavin, 38, and sister Thea, four, held a party at Marwell Activity Barn to spread the good news and thank donors.