Tiny infant Liam Henvey, whose first hat was little bigger than an egg cosy, has already been through five operations and he’s only four months old.
But after a long fight for survival that has seen the baby born 15 weeks premature shuttling between three major Scottish hospitals, Liam’s parents are preparing to take him home to Alyth.
Mum Lisa Ewart (27), a charge nurse at Rosemount Care Home in Blairgowrie, and dad James Henvey (24), a self-employed tree surgeon, had already been through the agony of losing their first child less than seven months before Liam’s traumatic arrival at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital.
Their first baby, a boy named James, was born last August in the Dundee Midwifery Unit at the hospital.
Apparently a healthy full term baby, James died at home when he was just four days old.
“It was put down to sudden infant death syndrome because they never found any cause,” Lisa said.
Still numb with the shock, Lisa fell pregnant again within weeks of James’ death.
There was no hint during the pregnancy of the struggle Liam would have to survive.
Not due until June 15, Liam arrived at Ninewells Hospital on March 8, weighing just 1lb 12oz.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Lisa said. “I think I was in shock when it first all happened.”
After all they’d been through just a few months earlier, the young couple kept a vigil as medical staff battled to help their tiny son survive.
They gave their baby the name William but shorten it to Liam and want him to be known by the diminutive.
The infant has spent months on a ventilator to help his immature lungs but has been managing to breathe independently for the last two days.
It’s a massive improvement from his early start in the neonatal unit where the tiniest and most sick babies are coaxed to survive.
“One time a doctor did say he was expecting Liam to pass away that night,” James said.
“He had changed from stable to critical. That was probably the worst night.
“Through all the operations he’s had that was the only time we thought he didn’t have much of a chance. We didn’t sleep a wink the whole night.
“That was the first and biggest scare he gave us.”
Liam’s first operation, carried out at Ninewells, involved fitting a valve to drain fluid and gas that built up in his stomach.
Then Liam was transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill, Glasgow, where specialist paediatric surgeons operated on his heart.
Back in the neonatal unit in Dundee Liam suffered a series of infections but his tiny veins were not coping with the need for lines going in to carry drugs and antibiotics.
A specialist paediatric surgeon travelled from Edinburgh to fit a device that would allow medical staff to make a connection into his body for the drug lines.
“He has always been a wriggler and it popped out,” said Lisa, adding that Liam was then transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh for another operation to fit another device.
More recently he had an operation in Ninewells to repair a hernia.
Throughout all the trauma, Lisa has expressed milk and Liam was fed breast milk through a tube.
“It was the only thing I could do for him and the best thing for him,” Lisa said.
Last night the couple said they would like to thank all the staff who had helped their son to survive and the many friends who had passed on their good wishes and support.
“The whole neonatal staff here at Ninewells have just been absolutely amazing throughout the whole experience,” James said.
“We have so much confidence in the staff that are here and just want to say a really big thank you to them.”
Lisa added, “We have had hundreds of people asking for us through friends and family but while Liam has been in hospital we have never had the chance to get back to them.
“I just want them to know their support means a lot.”