/ no comments

Former Staff Sergeant Wayne Ingram met Stefan Slavic ten years ago

Stefan, now 14, was born with a facial deformity and needed surgery

His eyes were 4.5m further apart, had no nose and skull was being crushed



Mr Ingram promised to raise enough money for him to have treatment

Thanks to his efforts, the first operation was carried out in 2003

He has now just had another follow-up procedure at Great Ormond Street

By

Emma Innes

06:05 EST, 8 May 2014

|

07:29 EST, 8 May 2014











115

View

comments

A soldier who spotted a boy with a terrible deformity while on patrol in Bosnia has spent ten years fundraising to finally deliver his promise of giving him a new face.

Former Staff Sergeant Wayne Ingram, 44, met four-year-old Stefan Savic a decade ago while on peacekeeping duties in Eastern Europe.

Stefan was born with a debilitating condition called Tessier facial cleft, which meant his eyes were 4.5cm further apart than normal and he had no proper nose.

Former Staff Sergeant Wayne Ingram has raised more than Â£100,000 to pay for a Bosnian boy, Stefan Savic, to have surgery at Great Ormond Street Childrenâ€™s Hospital in London

But father-of-two Mr Ingram, formerly of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers, was so moved by Stefanâ€™s plight he vowed to get him state-of-the-art medical help.

He collected an amazing Â£85,000 with a fundraising drive across Bosnia and the UK before bringing Stefan to Londonâ€™s Great Ormond Street Hospital in 2003.

The youngster underwent 12 hours of surgery with plastic surgeon David Dunaway, who cut his face in half before moving his eyes closer together and building him a nose.

The operation was a success but Mr Dunaway warned that a second operation would be needed a decade later.

Mr Ingram kept in touch with Stefan and his parents Slavenka, 36, and Milos, 44, raising a further Â£20,000 to bring him back to the UK to finish his treatment.

Stefan, now 14, returned to Great Ormond Street this week for his second operation with Mr Dunaway to improve his face and help his breathing.

When Mr Ingram first met Stefan a decade ago he promised to help raise the money for him to have the surgery he needed on the facial deformity he was born with. Stefan has now had the treatment (pictured)

Stefan (pictured at the age of four) born with a debilitating condition called Tessier facial cleft which meant his eyes were 4.5cm further apart than normal and he had no proper nose

Mr Ingram, from Weymouth, Dorset, said he was just happy to complete the remarkable job of helping Stefan lead the life of a normal little boy.

He said: â€˜I was on a routine patrol in Bosnia when I was introduced to his father and went to meet Stefan.

â€˜The condition had been left untreated and had grown between Stefanâ€™s eyes, crushing his skull, forcing his eyes apart to the point he couldnâ€™t see what was ahead of him.

WHAT IS TESSIER FACIAL CLEFT?



A facial cleft is an opening or gap in the face, or a malformation of part of the face.



It occurs when separate areas of the face do not join together properly when a baby is developing in the womb.



There are many different types of clefts, one group of which are called Tessier clefts.



These are clefts affecting the centre of the face.



The clefts are very rare and most children with them need multiple operations to help them breathe and eat.

â€˜But aside from the facial deformities

he was just a normal, playful little boy. He was confident and cheeky,

climbing all over me as we played football in the yard.

â€˜He was too young then to be self-aware. But his facial cleft was blocking his airways and without medical attention, could kill him.

â€˜I had two young sons myself at the time and there was no way I could stand back and do nothing. I knew in an instant I had to do everything I could to help.â€™

As Mr Ingram set about raising funds, he wrote to a long list of celebrities.

Only David Beckham replied, politely explaining he had already chosen his charities for that year.

Mr Dunaway, the surgeon, was offering his services for free but Mr Ingram still needed to pay for flights, accommodation for the family, as well as essential hospital costs.

He raised 6,000 Euros by staging a charity football match in Banja Luka, with Muslim, Serb and Croat players setting aside their conflicts to help Stefan.

And back in the UK, Mr Ingram launched a massive fundraising drive, persuading his local Asda to put collection boxes beside their tills.

He said: â€˜Donations poured in and I was bowled over by the generosity.

â€˜Stefan needed three operations back then â€“ one to remove his teeth, another to reconstruct his nose and another to reconstruct his skull.

Thanks to Mr Ingram, Stefan has had a series of operations and procedures at Great Ormond Street. The pair are pictured during one of Stefanâ€™s previous trips to London for treatment

Stefan (pictured after his latest operation) is expected to need one more operation and Mr Ingram has promised to be there for him and to help raise the money for this operation as well

â€˜He was back and forth to the UK many times, staying for as long as a month at a time.

â€˜The doctors warned us it wasnâ€™t over, however, and that ten years later Stefan would need follow up surgery.

â€˜But we have kept in touch ever since and as ten years neared I let Stefanâ€™s family know I would raise the necessary funds â€“ over Â£20,000.â€™

As Mr Ingram set about raising a second lot of cash to pay for visas, hospital costs and flights, he was once more amazed by peopleâ€™s generosity.

In his native Dorset, one anonymous donor, calling herself simply â€˜the kind grannyâ€™ contributed a â€˜large, undisclosedâ€™ amount.

And this time celebrities including comic Jim Davidson and musician Billy Bragg also answered his letters.

After his latest operation, Stefan (pictured on his first trip to London in 2003) said: â€˜This is the best thing that has ever happened to meâ€™

Stefanâ€™s operations have been carried out by surgeon David Dunaway (right) who has waived his fee on each occasion. This meant Mr Ingram only had to raise money for flights, accommodation and hospital costs

With the funding in place, Stefan underwent his four-hour follow-up operation with Mr Dunaway on Saturday and is making a good recovery.

Mr Dunaway, who once more waived his fees, said: â€˜This operation was really about reconstructing his nose and improving his nasal airway.

â€˜His nose was very wide and he basically didnâ€™t have a tip to it at all.

â€˜We took a cartilage from one rib, fashioned it into the shape of a nose, then used it to reconstruct his nose.

â€˜This will allow him to breath more easily, eat more easily, it will improve his speech and he will look much more like the rest of us.

â€˜To have the opportunity to greet him again and finish it off so he can lead a normal life and not worry about these things is just great.â€™

Without treatment, Stefanâ€™s condition could have killed him because his airway was being blocked

Mr Ingram (pictured with Stefan before his latest operation) was so inspired by Stefan that after leaving the army he became a paramedic

Stefan will likely need a further operation on his nose and orthodontics to realign his teeth before one final surgery to correct the roof of his mouth.

Mr Ingram, who was so inspired by Stefanâ€™s medical progress he became a paramedic after leaving the army, says heâ€™ll be there every step of the way.

Mr Ingram, whose own sons Harry and Toby are now 18 and 16, added: â€˜Stefan has never moaned or complained the whole time Iâ€™ve known him.

â€˜His mum says that after his latest operation he looked in front of the mirror and said: â€œthis is the best thing that has ever happened to meâ€.

â€˜For me this was about honouring a promise I made all those years ago and doing everything I could for Stefan.

â€˜Heâ€™s changed my life as well and inspired me to become a paramedic. Weâ€™ll always have an inseparable bond.â€™

Mr Ingramâ€™s fundraising efforts have been supported by the Facing the World charity, which provides life-changing surgery to children from developing countries with severe facial disfigurements.

To make a donation visit facingtheworld.net

Girl clobbers her rival in the head with SHOVEL

Boob-grabbing Clippers fan is the new Katherine Webb

WARNING GRAPHIC: Man arrested for punting cat

Is this Sasquatch caught on camera in Canadian mountains?

OCTOGOAT: A baby goat born with EIGHT legs!

Emilyâ€™s video diary and footage of her abortion procedure

Four dead in fire at tennis player James Blakeâ€™s mansion

Michelle Knight tells Dr. Phil bad memories â€˜never go awayâ€™

Dad arrested for violating school boardâ€™s two minute rule

Children thrown from fourth floor window as fire cuts offâ€¦

Terrifying moment man is knocked down and dragged by a GHOST

Models get sexy confused for a Save The Children shoot

Former executive, his wife and two children found dead â€˜withâ€¦

Video of barefoot girl-on-girl yard fight takes the internetâ€¦

â€˜Itâ€™s just a storm in a teacup â€“ it was more like a drunkenâ€¦

Father ARRESTED at school board meeting for complainingâ€¦

â€˜He didnâ€™t just rape me, he murdered my heartâ€™: Michelleâ€¦

EXCLUSIVE: Tori Spellingâ€™s new crisis: She needs majorâ€¦

â€˜I wish weâ€™d killed more!â€™: White supremacist couple kissâ€¦

NFL hostess Rebecca Grant has a mini meltdown on camera asâ€¦

Father of four â€˜shoots dead estranged wife and wounds herâ€¦

â€˜My body is real and I wonâ€™t be made to feel ashamedâ€™:â€¦

Homeless mom Chardenea left her toddlers to sleep in bushesâ€¦

The Clintonsâ€™ plot: Lynne Cheney claims Monica Lewinskyâ€™sâ€¦

Comments ( )

what you think

The comments below have not been moderated.

ME,

Wiltshire, United Kingdom,

8 minutes ago

Earunder30,

essex, United Kingdom,

8 minutes ago

Doris,

Hereford,

8 minutes ago

Harrowtreat,

London, United Kingdom,

9 minutes ago

Madman,

Milton Keynes, United Kingdom,

10 minutes ago

Jimbo-Fleet,

Fleet, United Kingdom,

10 minutes ago

Doris,

Hereford,

10 minutes ago

giggles,

bath,

10 minutes ago

Rachel0021,

Northern Ireland, United Kingdom,

10 minutes ago

Oddsbods,

Salthouse,

11 minutes ago

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Find out now