Born a healthy baby in southwestern Bangladesh, Mohammad Hasan’s head started to dramatically swell when he was just 16 days old.

Now, 18 months on, his head measures an astonishing 69cm in circumference and is so big he is unable to support the weight of it.

His mother, Sharmin Akter, noticed her son’s unusual appearance but was unable to take her baby to a hospital that had the facilities to treat him.

‘When my son was born, his condition was good. After his head started to grow strangely big I worried to see him,’ she said.

‘Within 16 to 18 days of my child’s birth his head size began to enlarge.

‘After that we took him to the local doctor in our village but due to our financial condition we were not able to take him to any good doctor.’

To add to the worries of her son, 19-year-old Sharmin claims she was abandoned by her husband, who blamed his wife for Hasan’s condition.

And after a local journalist covered Hasan’s story, the toddler was referred to the National Institute of Neurosciences Hospital in Dhaka on March 5, 2017.

Doctors have diagnosed Hasan with hydrocephalus, a condition often referred to as water on the brain.

Caused by a build up of cerebrospinal fluid, the brain typically produces a pint of this fluid, which protects the brain by removing waste products and providing nutrients.

But when the cerebrospinal fluid doesn’t sufficiently drain, it can place pressure on the brain and in young children, whose skulls haven’t fully hardened and fused, it can cause swelling.

Left untreated hydrocephalus can cause long-term complications and even death.

Hasan will be treated by Doctor Sheik Mohammad Ekramullah, the associate professor and head of Paediatric Neurosurgery at the National Institute, who has treated over 80 children with hydrocephalus.

And Sharmin is hopeful that her son will now get the treatment he needs to overcome his condition.

She said: ‘I want to see a cure for my son. He is my last hope.’