Sophie and Paul first noticed symptoms in their son Otto earlier this year (Picture: Paul Acreman / SWNS)

When Sophie Reddaway and Paul Acreman first noticed that their one-year-old son, Otto, was experiencing breathing difficulties and struggling to put on weight earlier this year, they were immediately worried.

Taking him to the doctors for an initial check-up turned into multiple trips to the GP — but medical professionals assured his parents, 25 and 27, that it was likely ‘just a cold.’

‘Probably after about four months, we noticed there was something wrong,’ Paul, a landscape gardener and tree surgeon from Okehampton in Devon , says.

‘He just had heavy, congested breathing and he was wheezing. It carried on and we took him to the GP four or five times and A&E about it to try an

See Full Page