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India: A seven-year-old boy is suffering a living nightmare after a huge facial tumour stretched and blackened his face - and left other children scared of him.
Aditya Mishra suffers from a rare condition which has blinded him in one eye and is having a series of operations to remove the mass that has obscured his face.
The child was born healthy but over time the expanding tumour has deformed his features.
Aditya is often taunted with terms like 'ghost' or 'monkey' and other children run away from him in fear.
His mother Neetu Mishra has had the painful experience of seeing her son live an isolated and increasingly difficult lifestyle.
She said: "He becomes very sad at times. If he goes out to play with other kids, they get scared.
"My worst fear is what will we do if his facial tumour grows further or it simply bursts? What will we do then?"
Shortly after his birth Neetu and Aditya's father Niraj Mishra noticed that his right eye was slightly bigger than his left.
Neetu explained: "We helplessly saw his condition deteriorating. His eyes were disproportionate. I could see his right eyelid growing and covering his eye.
"My worst fear was that it might affect his vision - and right under our watch, he lost sight in his right eye.
"He gets a headache very often. He often complains about pain near his right forehead. At times, he would not eat for days. He would not even take water. He would just complain about pain and keep crying."
Aditya is desperate to go to school like his younger brother but has been told he will scare the other children.
With the help of family and friends the family raised £1,000 for Niraj to have his first operation in November .
It will take a further five sessions under the knife, at a cost of £5,000, to completely transform his face and the family are appealing for help with funds to get him the medical treatment he desperately needs.
Aditya, from Ramnagar Sodala, Jaipur, India, will need treating every four to five months and the process will take between two and three years.
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