Ethan McElhenny and his mum Carla Sikes both bear the "battle scars" of a rare and complex surgery conducted while he was still inside her womb.
Neurosurgeon Martin Wood operated on Ethan at 24 weeks' gestation at the Mater Mothers' Hospital in Brisbane after an ultrasound revealed he had spina bifida, a condition affecting about one in 2,000 Australian pregnancies.
It's delicate surgery and Ethan only measured about the length of an ear of corn — and weighed less than 1 kilogram — at the time.
