DURING the past year and a half little Levi Trotter has faced many challenges including battling meningitis, being diagnosed blind and deaf in one ear and having a feeding tube fitted into his stomach.

But 2013 looks like it will bring further hurdles with the Newport 19-month-old recently being diagnosed with abnormal bone growth.

The youngster’s parents Amber Collins and Aly Trotter are now waiting to see a consultant in the new year to see if Levi faces further operations.

The Argus previously reported how Levi was undergoing an operation to fit a feeding tube into his stomach after having trouble swallowing food.

Levi underwent the operation on November 1 at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. Although he was discharged the next day, he was then taken back in for a week after suffering stomach problems.

But after settling back in at home, Levi’s physiotherapist recently noticed a lump in his right wrist and originally thought it was dislocated but an x-ray showed it was abnormal bone growth.

Miss Collins said this is where tissue on the bone is growing abnormally and can cause thinning of the bone meaning he is more prone to dislocating or snapping his wrist.

The family are waiting to see a consultant so that Levi can undergo an MRI scan to find out if he will need an operation on his wrist and if other parts of his body are affected by abnormal bone growth. Miss Collins, 26, said: “We get through one thing and then there’s something else. We are just exhausted.

“We were hoping to have an operation-free 2013 but that doesn’t look likely now.”