Publishing: 12 January 2012
by TOM FOOT

JACK Smart is an identical twin but, unlike his brother, he was born with a debilitating condition and cannot walk.

The boys, now six-and -a-half years old, experienced a rare condition in the womb called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.

Crucial nutrients were not evenly shared between them during  pregnancy.

Now their mother, Angela Smart, has launched a massive fund-raising campaign to fly little Jack out to America for a once-in-a-lifetime operation.

Angela, of Beswick Mews, Lymington Road, West Hampstead, needs £60,000 for the Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy that will allow Jack to walk again like his brother.

It is Jack’s only chance as the complex surgery is not available free of charge in this country on the NHS.

“When I was pregnant, something went wrong,” said Angela.

“When you have identical twins, the egg splits.

The placenta wasn’t doing the right job, and one baby was tiny.

Jack was twice as big as Ben.

But although Ben was tiny he was the better one.

Ben was anaemic when he was born – but it did him a favour.

Jack’s body was bombarded with too much of everything and his body was damaged because all the activity in his brain.

When he was born he was as stiff as a board with his hands clenched.”

After giving birth, Angela was told there was an 80 per cent chance one of her children would die.

Mercifully, Jack has survived and, despite developing cerebral palsy, he goes to Beckford Primary School in West Hampstead.

At the twins’ home, Ms Smart told the New Journal how Jack had been given the all-clear for the complex neurosurgical technique, used to treat spasticity in the lower limbs.

Experts will isolate Jack’s nerves one at a time and test them individually.

They cut out the ones that don’t work and those that do take over.

“It’s like pruning the dead leaves off a tree,” said Ms Smart.

“The operation is available here but it is in its infancy.

In America, the criteria is very strict; only select children are absolutely sure to benefit from the procedure.

Jack has been selected. He will get up and walk.”

She added: “Every day, he asks: am I going today?”

The family have raised £1,450 over Christmas and have a series of events planned this year.

• To donate, through an official registered charity, visit www.jacks-hope.co.uk/index.html