CHRISTMAS will be an extra special event for little Jack Porter and his family because it will be the first year he has been allowed to eat chocolate.

The six-year-old from Covingham received a new kidney in the summer, a gift for which his family had been hoping for two and a half years.

The operation now means he can enjoy the treats the rest of us take for granted.

Jack was diagnosed with the male kidney condition of prune belly syndrome when he was still in the womb.

He was born with two kidneys but endured severe swelling on his abdomen due to an internal blockage. At 18-months he underwent an operation to remove a kidney and started dialysis when he was two-and-a-half.

This procedure had to be administered three times a week for three years.

Now, following more than 30 operations, which include bladder reconstruction, Jack's little body resembles that of a war hero.

His mum Kim, 36, said: "He looks like a little patchwork quilt. The options of dialysis are running out because his veins have taken so much already.

"He had to have an artificial vein inserted into his leg to cope with the dialysis. This graft was tied off in an operation at the end of October which left his leg very swollen but he now seems to be recovering well."

Jack still has a feeding tube in his stomach but his intake has been reduced from a high calorie feed to just water, of which he must receive a plentiful supply.

Kim explained: "He was taken off the feed as it was thought it would encourage him to eat more. Before he would eat tiny amounts and start to heave.

"Now, he loves cheese and pasta, and also chocolate."

And strategically placed hanging chocolates on the newly decorated Christmas tree prove to be too tempting for the youngster.

"He can eat anything he wants. I'm not about to start saying no. I'm just so grateful he wants to eat," Kim said.

Since the operation Jack has shown remarkable signs of good health. His feet have increased by three shoe sizes he had been a size seven for 18 months and he has shot up four inches.

Jack's new kidney has the rather precarious new location just beneath his skin in his stomach. It means he has to take things easy for fear of knocking it but Kim says her son knows his limits.

She said: "He now attends school full time at Covingham Infants and does find it very tiring. But he is aware of what he can and can't do, particularly in PE.

"We will still have to visit doctors at Bristol once a fortnight but hopefully that will become less and less frequent with him eventually being seen in Swindon. But the staff at Bristol have become part of the family.

"Christmas is normally spent looking after Jack when he is ill in hospital. This year will be the first Christmas Eve that Jack will be at home all day and that in itself makes Christmas special."

Her feelings are echoed by Jack's sister Cara, 14, who told her mum that she has already got all she wants for Christmas.

Christmas day will see 16 members of the family, including Jack's dad Shaun, 37, and brothers and sisters, Cara, Jodie, 12, Thomas, 10, and Lucy, nine, gather for a meal cooked by Kim's mum.

New Year's Eve will be spent at home with family and friends.

The family recently attended a donor remembrance service in Bristol, and have planted a tree in their garden to pay tribute to the donor who saved Jack's life.

Kim said: "This time last year was just awful. Now we are very much looking forward to a proper family Christmas."