'Geordie Shore' star Aaron Chalmers's ex Talia Oatway shares their son, one, has had to have emergency surgery

Reality TV star Aaron Chalmers' ex-girlfriend Talia Oatway has shared the latest health update on their youngest son, who has a rare genetic condition.

One-year-old Oakley was born in 2022 with Apert Syndrome and it has been reported that Chalmers, who viewers will know from ‘Geordie Shore’, has been told that the tot will be “in and out of surgery for 18-24 months”. Now, his former partner -and Oakley’s mum - has shared their little boy has undergone of those surgeries.

Apert syndrome is a type of complex craniosynostosis, which occurs before birth. Craniosynostosis is a rare condition where a baby's skull does not grow properly and their head becomes an unusual shape, according to the NHS. As well as the skull and face, the hands and feet are also affected with apert syndrome because of the mutation on a specific gene.

On Saturday evening (June 8), Oatway told her social media followers that the little one was having an operation to deal with the fact that his cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was leaking. She wrote on Instagram: 'Putting your child into theatre never gets easier. They are going to try and see where the leak of CSF is coming from. They won't put a shunt in yet as Oakley is still on strong IV antibiotics.” She went on: “There will be a meeting next week to discuss long-term plans if this carries on leaking. They mentioned he may have another drain fitted today.”

The next day, on Sunday (June 9), she updated her followers to let them know that doctors had found a hole under her son's skull and he now has a lumbar drain in to help alleviate the problem. She said: “Another surgery last night. They found a hole under Oakley's skull which was leaking CSF. He's got a lumbar drain in for now to help drain the CSF. There will be a meeting on Monday to discuss the next step which will probably lead to another operation which could be a shunt.”

36-year-old Chalmers is father to three sons; Romeo, three, Maddox, two, and baby son Oakley, 21 months. He shares all his children with his ex-partner Oatway. The pair split in December after five years together and are said to no longer on speaking terms. Oatway shared images of Oakley for the first time last week. She has always been open about his condition, but has never shared a photo of him until now.

Sharing an image of her youngest son, she wrote: "It has been the toughest 7 months of my entire life. I have been thrown into a medical world, with no forewarning, no time to prepare. Only now I feel like I’m coming to terms everything, finally coping with how I’m feeling, embracing our new normal. This is my beautiful son Oakley Bleu, he was born with a rare genetic syndrome called Apert Syndrome. . . . Apert Syndrome often causes a global developmental and learning delay. (Oakley sleeps on a vent mask) and uses oxygen.

She continued: "Oakley has a long road ahead, this is a lifelong journey and it isn’t going to be easy. But my boy, you have shown me how strong you are! You are brave and determined and I love you more than you’ll ever know. I hope that by sharing our journey I can raise awareness and support other medical families. She then added red heart emoji.

She finished her post with a tribute to her boy. “I'm so proud of this boy, he has shown me nothing in this world matters but health and love. It has taken me a long time to get where I am but finally I’m starting to feel happy again. Son, you have two amazing brothers and an amazing big sister behind you. We have absolutely everything we need. Let’s do this.”

Chalmers has also recently stepped back from the spotlight, including quitting ‘Geordie Shore’ so he can help care for his young family. Chalmers, who is also a retired professional boxer and MMA fighter as well as a TV personality, announced his departure from the show last month - a decade after he first took part.