A Scots mum who was advised to consider abortion after discovering her son would be paralysed has shared his amazing progress after she underwent ground breaking foetal surgery.
Lauren Wark, 28, was 20-weeks into her pregnancy when doctors broke the devastating news that her son Phoenix would be born with Spina Bifida. Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don't form properly.
Doctors told Lauren and her husband Gordon, 34, that their unborn baby would likely never walk due to the condition.
However, little Phoenix, now two, has defied the odds by gaining the ability to move his legs, crawl and even stand if he is supported.
Lauren told the Record: "The difference in what we were told Phoenix could do compared to what he can do now is phenomenal.
"Every single day he is doing things we thought he never could and he has never stopped progressing. He sat up on his own when he was five months and he started army crawling when he was 13 months and that is when he consistently started to move his legs."
The couple, from Renfrewshire, knew very little about Spina bifida before the diagnosis. They began researching and came across an innovative foetal surgery in Belgium that could help repair the lesion in Phoenix’s spine before he was born, which Lauren now credits with his development.
After numerous tests to confirm her eligibility for the cutting edge surgery, Lauren travelled to the University Hospital of Leuven in Belgium for further testing at 25-weeks pregnant before doctors confirmed she was suitable for the NHS funded procedure. The operation was a success and Phoenix himself seemed eager to begin his journey, being born seven-weeks prematurely at just 4lb 11oz on November 1, 2020.
The tot, who weighed roughly the same as two bags of sugar, was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
Looking back, Lauren is proud to have given her wee boy the best chance at life.
She added: Termination was never an option for us and look at him now, look how amazing he is'."
"He is such a motivated wee person and I've never meet a boy so determined. It is amazing and that brings us so much hope."
Lauren and Gordon are desperate to help Phoenix continue to improve by fundraising for private electoral stimulation therapy.
So far they've raised nearly £3,000 for the cost of the machine and payment towards the treatment that could last years.
Lauren continued: "Phoenix does have very weak legs and we found a woman who pioneered a version of electoral simulation therapy for children with Spina Bifida.
"We hope the therapy will strengthen his muscles, increase his circulation and help him know when he needs the loo. If we get just a one per cent change for the better then we will be happy."
Lauren and Gordon will travel to Linlithgow for the treatment from Movement Physiotherapy after ordering equipment from America. The treatment was pioneered by a specialist physiotherapist based in Florida but a Scottish woman has been trained in the procedure.
Donations to the fundraising page can be made by clicking here.
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