A MIRACLE baby born with a two per cent chance of survival has continued to confound his family and doctors.

Charlotte Evans’ pregnancy with her son Keyan was plagued with setback after setback, having been offered two terminations before his birth in September.

The odds were stacked against the 27-year-old’s son, having been diagnosed with a genetic disorder and a “large hole” in his heart.

“Nobody gave him a chance except us, we wanted our son,” said Mrs Evans, who lives with her husband Gavin and three children in Pontnewynydd.

“The pregnancy was nothing but stress and anxiety, and not knowing whether our son would live or die.”

Mrs Evans was first alerted of problems at a 12-week scan, when Keyan was found with fluid round the back of his neck.

The family were told that their son could have Down’s Syndrome but a visit to the specialist produced another diagnosis – DiGeorge Syndrome.

The disorder, which affects one of every 3,000 births, is caused by a lack of certain chromosomes within a person’s DNA.

“The doctors said that Keyan would have problems with his heart, kidney and facial features,” said Mrs Evans.

“They said that they wouldn’t be able to see how bad his heart was until 20 weeks. He was so small.”

A visit to St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol eight weeks later led to another diagnosis – Keyan had a large hole in his heart and a narrow, leaking heart valve.

He would have to have surgery as soon as he was born, with doctors given him a one-in-four chance of survival.

When Mrs Evans was five months gone she was confronted with another offer of termination.

“I would have had injections in my stomach and into Keyan’s heart to stop it, then I’d have to give birth to him stillborn,” she said.

“He was deteriorating inside of me and his chances were going down.”

Then another scan at St Michael’s showed that Keyan had shifted in his mother’s womb and had slipped into the breech position.

Mrs Evans was induced and rushed for a caesarean section and, just as told, Keyan was immediately rushed into intensive care with an oxygen mask over his face.

“He was already going blue in the face,” said Mrs Evans.

While his mother was recovering in the maternity ward at St Michael’s, Keyan was taken to the nearby Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

Two days later, Mrs Evans received a bedside phone call and was asked to go to the children’s hospital as her son was quickly “deteriorating”.

“We were told he’d be dead in days and he was given a two per cent chance,” she said.

Mrs Evans claimed that she and her husband were given “only an hour” to decide the next course of action.

According to Mrs Evans, the doctors had suggested transferring Keyan to respite care at Ty Hafan in Cardiff.

She said: “We were in a vulnerable place, and before that hour was up I had someone in my face and asked if our mind had been made.

“But we wanted to at least give him that small chance, so he went into surgery.

“On the day of the surgery a doctor shook my hand and told me that he’d do everything he could do for Keyan.”

The young fighter remained in surgery all day and, before its end, Mrs Evans received a phone call from a nurse saying that their son was doing better than expected.

He was moved back into intensive care, where it became clear that the traumatic birth had taken a physical toll on him.

“He was born seven pounds two ounces, but he went down to five pounds one ounce,” said Mrs Evans.

The family remained in Bristol for three weeks before Keyan was transferred to the Noah’s Ark Children’s in Cardiff.

During his stay his parents were both taught how to feed him through a tube, as well as emergency first aid.

Aside from monthly hospital checks in Cardiff or at Abergavenny’s Nevill Hall, Keyan is now recovering at home with his family.

His father has left his job of 10 years to support both him and his proud wife.

“We can’t believe how well amazing Keyan’s been doing,” said Mrs Evans

“He’s got a long journey ahead of him, but we’ll be taking that journey with him.”

The family are now planning a series of fundraisers, including a tombola at the local community centre on April 28, and a 4,000-foot skydive in aid of British Heart Foundation.

Mrs Evans is also hoping his birth will raise awareness of DiGeorge syndrome, a condition that the family had little knowledge of prior to Keyan’s diagnosis.