'I was offered a termination twice - but this photo proves why I was right to decline'

Oliver Seagrove was calved astatine Birmingham Women’s Hospital connected September 8th 2016, weighing 5Ib 12oz, with doctors soon discovering helium had been calved with fractional a heart.

Every day small Oliver Seagrove’s parents instrumentality a precise peculiar photograph of their son, sitting connected his favourite histrion stump successful their section park. The representation marks different landmark they thought Oliver mightiness ne'er reach, aft helium was calved with fractional a heart.

His mum Jess, 29, a nurse, tells The Mirror: “His endurance has been truthful unthinkable that we wanted to people each twelvemonth to amusement what an accomplishment it is.” Jess and hubby Ashley, 30, a erstwhile lawsuit services manager, who unrecorded successful Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with Oliver and their girl Elise, three, were thrilled erstwhile they realised they were expecting a baby.

But an abnormality astatine the 12 week scan, led to tests revealing their unborn babe was astatine precocious hazard of Down’s syndrome, with the added anticipation thing was incorrect with his heart. Jess says: “It was devastating. We were offered further investigations, but I’d already suffered 2 miscarriages, truthful we declined.

“Then we were offered a termination, but we refused. We wanted to springiness our babe a chance.’” The 16 week scan revealed that Oliver had hypoplastic close bosom syndrome, meaning the close broadside of the organ doesn’t make properly. This causes debased humor oxygen levels and inadequate humor travel to the lungs and occurs successful astir 1 successful 100,000 babies, who usually request beingness redeeming country wrong a week of being born.

Jess says: “We could intelligibly spot that the close broadside of his bosom was missing. We were offered a termination again but we said nary again.” Told 48 hours aboriginal that his information was excessively analyzable for surgery, Jess adds: “I heard this howl coming from acold distant and didn’t realise astatine archetypal that it was coming from me.

“To beryllium told that determination was thing that could beryllium done for our babe was unbearable. ” Oliver was calved astatine Birmingham Women’s Hospital connected September 8th 2016, weighing 5Ib 12oz, but his troubles were acold from over.

“Doctors said they would enactment a stent successful astatine six days aged to assistance the humor travel astir his fractional heart,” says Jess. ”Luckily that went good and helium was inactive with us.” A further cognition called a Glenn process followed astatine 4 months old, wherever doctors tried to re-plumb his fractional bosom to assistance it work.

But the tiny babe suffered a physique up of fluid astir the bosom and for 48 hours his beingness hung successful the equilibrium - with it aboriginal being revealed helium had besides had a stroke. “It was specified a scary time. Doctors said if it had been near for different 2 days, past helium wouldn’t person made it,” says Jess.

Taking months to physique up spot aft truthful overmuch aboriginal trauma, by the clip of his 2nd birthday, his parents yet felt helium was retired of danger. Jess continues: “He was stronger by his 2nd birthday, truthful that’s erstwhile we took the archetypal photograph connected the log astatine our favourite park.

“It seemed similar specified an unthinkable time - that helium had made it to his 2nd day - and we wanted to seizure that infinitesimal forever.” And truthful the day photograph contented has continued - though Oliver needed further bosom surgery, aged four, erstwhile helium had a Fontan procedure, rerouting humor to the lungs, and developed sepsis.

Thankfully, helium survived - going connected to person hernia country erstwhile helium turned six. “Seeing Oliver now, photographed successful that aforesaid spot connected each birthday, shows however helium has proved doctors who didn’t deliberation he’d past wrong,” says Jess.

“He’s doing incredibly well. He’s arrogant of his scar down his thorax and helium knows what helium has been done to beryllium present today. He struggles with his equilibrium since the stroke, but he’s learning to thrust a motorcycle and helium loves being with his small sister, who dotes connected him.

“We volition transportation connected taking a photograph connected his day each twelvemonth - and we enactment them up successful frames astir the location ,so we tin spot each time however acold helium has come. Doctors wanted to terminate my pregnancy twice, but look astatine Oliver now.”