PENI Manulevu enjoys cartoons, snacks and playing like any other eight-year-old.
The only difference is that he has never walked, sat up unaided, kicked a ball or even crawled.
He can only eat lying face up and rolling about inside his home is his version of play - and even that with great difficulty because he cannot support the weight of his growing head.
Peni, the son of a copra estate labourer at Wina in Savusavu, suffers from the rare medical condition, hydrocephalus, also known as "water on the brain".
He told the Fiji Times he has only one wish - that one day he could run out and play.
His mother, Makarina Dikasavou, 43, carries him everywhere. Ms Dikasavou gave birth to him when she was seven months pregnant on August 26, 2001.
Peni was born through caesarean section at the Savusavu Hospital - a sickly baby weighing a mere 1.22 kilogrammes.
"We spent five months in hospital and by the time we were discharged I noticed his head swelling," she said.
"He was diagnosed with the disease and as the years grew so did the size of his head. I felt very sad for him because he could not crawl or turn. While all the children grew up and went out to play, Peni lay there and could only watch from under a tree or inside the house."
By age four, Peni underwent surgery at the CWM hospital and is reviewed yearly.
CWM Hospital surgeon Dr Eddie McCaig Senior said Peni's condition was rare and afflicts only about one child for every 1000 births.
"That is the worldwide rate but we might have even more," he said. "One thing that has reduced the rate worldwide is women are given folate (a water soluble B vitamin that occurs naturally in food). This helps lessen the risks of neural tube defects that could lead to hydrocephalus."
A visiting team of neurosurgeons from Australia is expected to commence surgeries, especially on hydrocephalus cases, at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital today.
"I love my son, doctors told me that he may not improve but I will continue to hope and pray that his wishes will come true one day," Mrs Dikasavou said.
Hydrocephalus has no cure and can even cause death, yet Peni's cheerful disposition masks that fact. He sharply retorted to the teasing from his cousins while his picture was being taken.
Peni loves country singer Kenny Rogers, enjoys porridge and prays every morning that he will always have a humble spirit.
