Baby given one day to live reaches first birthday

When Marie Clare Tully gave commencement to her lad Hector, prematurely astatine conscionable 23 weeks, doctors said helium astir apt lone had a time to live.

His mum was told to accidental her goodbyes due to the fact that helium had a precise debased accidental of survival.

But Hector defied the likelihood and Marie Claire's "miracle baby" has present celebrated his archetypal birthday.

It has not been an casual 12 months but his mum said it had been the happiest twelvemonth of her life.

So acold helium has spent 259 nights of his beingness successful infirmary aft being calved with terrible complications owed to his prematurity.

He has hydrocephalus, which means spinal fluid cannot travel astir the body, owed to a bleed connected his brain. He besides has chronic lung disease, retinopathy, a feeding conduit and centralised slumber apnoea.

Marie Clare, 41, said: "His lawsuit is unsocial arsenic helium has other complications owed to his prematurity.

"He has besides been precise unlucky arsenic the shunt wrong his caput keeps blocking."

Hector was calved connected 12 November 2021 erstwhile Covid restrictions meant helium had to beryllium enactment into isolation until helium tested antagonistic for Covid.

Marie Clare and his father, Angus, were not allowed to sojourn their lad for the archetypal 40 hours of his life.

Staff sent the Edinburgh mates representation updates of their tiny lad portion helium battled for beingness successful an incubator.

"I saw him erstwhile helium was calved and gave him a buss and past helium was wrapped successful integrative to support him lukewarm and rushed to the resuscitation department," Marie Clare told BBC Scotland.

"I felt devastation astatine not being capable to beryllium with him.

"I was heartbroken that we couldn't beryllium with him successful those important aboriginal moments."

Marie Clare, a main enforcement of a foundation who is presently connected maternity leave, said that aft astir 2 days, they were allowed to marque abbreviated visits to spot him and aft 5 days they were capable to beryllium with him time and night.

After 18 days doctors took him disconnected his ventilator and said helium would live.

"When I heard, I fto retired a wail that came from the bottommost of my soul, I can't articulate it, it was the top feeling successful the world," she told BBC Scotland.

"There was inactive a agelong mode to spell but to cognize the squad thought helium was going to past was truthful great."

It was not until April 2022 that helium was allowed to spell location - 5 months aft helium was born.

He is inactive a regular diligent astatine the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, has had 15 operations and has been rushed to A&E 25 times.

The harm to the encephalon from hydrocephalus tin origin a wide scope of symptoms, including: headache, being sick, blurred imaginativeness and trouble walking.

Despite the struggles Marie Claire said: "I consciousness the luckiest person, he's truthful fun, helium brings truthful overmuch joyousness to truthful galore people.

"I'm truthful arrogant of him. He is simply a miracle, helium is beyond a occurrence and I americium truthful arrogant of him."

About 4,000 babies are calved premature successful Scotland each twelvemonth but lone a tiny percent are earlier 28 weeks.

Medical advances mean babies calved arsenic aboriginal arsenic 22 weeks tin beryllium saved but statistic amusement lone 4 successful each 10 calved astatine 23 weeks survive.

"It is due to the fact that of everyone's affirmative prayers that helium has been pulled done and we person made definite to situation him with each the emotion and joyousness and anticipation truthful that helium feels perfectly adored.

"We marque definite each time is large for him," she said.

Marie Clare said she was blown distant by the enactment from unit astatine the hospital.

She said: "Everybody astatine the infirmary is down Hector, the nurses, domestics, clerks, doctors, physios, it's similar 1 large family.

"Some days person been truthful difficult. He's had drains coming retired of his caput and I've not been allowed to assistance him but the attraction helium has had astatine the infirmary has been incredible."

Pippa Johnston, manager at Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity, said: "Hector and his household are inspirational and person shown truthful overmuch spot done an unimaginably hard year.

"Hector is genuinely a leader successful each consciousness of the word.

"Sadly the world is that immoderate families person to beryllium successful infirmary implicit Christmas. While we can't instrumentality distant their pain, we tin present happiness. Together with the NHS, we enactment hard to marque definite families similar Hector's don't miss retired connected the magic of the festive season."

The mates mislaid a babe successful gestation 3 years earlier truthful Hector's gestation had been precocious risk.

Marie Clare said: "When I went to infirmary with crisp pains doctor's told maine I was successful labour.

"I said 'no' and tried to fell the labour pains from them arsenic I desperately didn't privation him to get early.

"They said determination was a precise slim accidental of endurance nether 23 weeks. I looked astatine my ticker and it was 1 infinitesimal to midnight and truthful I said successful 1 infinitesimal I volition person reached 23 weeks."

He was calved 1 hr 14 mins later.

Marie Clare and Angus, 41, manager of euphony astatine Fettes College, absorption connected each time with their lad arsenic they bash not cognize however his information volition impact his beingness successful the future.

The mates person present celebrated his archetypal birthday.

Marie Clare said: "He was calved astatine 01:14 truthful we stood astatine his cot astatine that nonstop clip 1 twelvemonth aboriginal and had a quiescent infinitesimal conscionable truthful grateful helium is here.

"We reflected connected however helium had made it and however we were the luckiest people.

"It's been the champion twelvemonth of my life."