So Somerset

When Ashton Whereat from Bridgwater was born, doctors did not know what was wrong with him.

He was grunting and had trouble breathing. After several blood tests, doctors realised he had low blood sugar levels.

Ashton was taken to Great Ormond Street

"I couldn't believe it. Just watching him lie there was just horrible as you couldn't do anything about it," said mother Amy.

Unable to leave hospital, baby Ashton was surrounded with wires and placed in an incubator while the doctors tried to figure out what was wrong.

"It's hard to hold your baby while a nurse tries to force a tube down his nose," said father Vaughan.

After being seen at Taunton Musgrove Park Hospital and St Michael's Hospital, Ashton was eventually referred up to Great Ormond Street, where he was eventually diagnosed with a condition called Hyperinsulinism (HI).

HI is an above normal level of insulin in the blood. It can be associated with several other medical problems which can be divided into two broad categories: those tending toward reduced sensitivity to insulin and high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) and those tending toward excessive insulin secretion and low glucose levels (hypoglycemia).

It's very rare - about one in 35,000 people are born with the condition- but until recently, it could lead to major health problems.

Despite it being a risky procedure, doctors wanted to use a new type of surgery to help Ashton.

Around one in 35,000 people are affected

His consultant from Great Ormond Street and head of the Endocryne Service, Dr Hussain, said babies with the condition used to have the entire pancreas removed through open surgery however this was a relatively dangerous procedure.

Through research, Dr Hussein and his team at Great Ormand Street realised that only a small portion of the pancreas was affected which could be identifiable.

He then developed key hole surgery to remove the affected parts.

After nine days in recovery, baby Ashton was ready to finally go home.

"I love every minute of every day. I don't want to do anything else but play with him," said Vaughan.