Whitchurch's little hero Zac Harris is smiling again after he underwent his crowdfunded vital operation to improve his qualify of life.

Zac, who is 11 and has cerebral palsy, underwent the five-hour crucial selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) operation on February 9 in Bristol.

The operation will help Zac – who loves Whitchurch Alport and Shrewsbury Town –achieve his goal of kicking a football and mum Charlene says it has been tough for him, but he's got his smile back.

"Zac's in great spirits but I have to say the first few days were hard because he was in so much pain, which he isn't used to as he's never had it before," he said.

"He was on an awful lot of medication and he was bring sick with it, but he was being made drowsy from anti-sickness tablets.

"It just wasn't like him; he's very talkative and bubbly but he wasn't for the first few days.

"The doctors said that was going to be the worst but once we got past that after a couple of days, the smile came back and he hasn't looked back really.

"The nurses have all commented that he's always smiling. It's fantastic – it was such a relief when I saw that smile for the first time after a few days."

Charlene, who works in McDonald's on the A41, is spending all of the time at the hospital with Zac, posting updates on her social media of her time with her son.

But she insists she is more than happy with the arrangements.

"I'm doing ok – I'm as comfortable as I can be in my little bed," she said.

"It's actually ok in it but I was in a reclining chair for three nights but now I'm in this little bed and it's ok.

"This operation was to lengthen his calves but the first one was the big op. But we're happy with everything so far as are the doctors and the physio."

Zac and his family have raised the funds for the operation through a series of fundraising events, with Alport leading the way as the Yockings Park club regularly had Zac as mascot on matchday.

Charlene later added that Zac has not required a second operation as his legs have loosened enough.