Austin now attends the gym two to three times a week with mum Helen and a personal trainer.
"He couldn't do that before, now Austin says, "I go to the gym like my brother does'," Mrs Manning said.
He's now able to get on his bike and just ride and can walk in his walker unassisted - something he couldn't do before the operation.
"He's getting stronger and stronger by the day. Everything takes time but watch this space - he will be able to do a lot more in the future," Mrs Manning said.
"I was looking at a video of him of when he first got back, and you had to hold him and the walker. Every few steps he would fall over. Now he jumps in the walker himself and he's off. That difference and the operation was only seven months ago.
Austin recently competed in the Weet-Bix TRYathlon, something he has always wanted to do.
He swam 100m, then biked the rest of the race to just before the finish line which he walked himself over, which his mother described at a very emotional and powerful moment
"Brett [Austin's dad] and Shannon [Austin's teacher aide] ran the 5.5km with him. Brett said 'I thought we would walk a bit' but there was no way, his little legs were fired up.
"His poor legs were like jelly by the end but he walked over the line. He was so chuffed with himself."
That night he slept in his Weet-Bix T-shirt and medal.
"I said to him, you're my little champion," Mrs Manning said.
"The next day he asked me, 'am I really your little champion'. He thought about that and thought wow I actually am a champion.
"To see that smile on his face, he was so proud of himself and we were just so proud of him. He's worked hard. The minute he was done and got his medal he was talking about doing it next year.
"We are so blessed we had the Bay of Plenty Community, the Chiefs franchise and the Bay of Plenty Times get behind us. This would have never happened.
"It was the best Christmas present really, you couldn't ask for much more than that."
So super proud of our little man who biked 5km and had legs like jelly but still managed to walk over the finish line at the weetbix triathlon today
Posted by Austins Dream to Walk on Saturday, 17 December 2016