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'Little fighter' Koen defies odds

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date08 April 2024
Publication titleEvening Gazette
Danielle Frater, 28, said she was offered an abortion at 20 weeks because he had no cerebellum - the part of the brain which controls breathing

The unborn baby also had severe hydrocephalus - a build-up of fluid in the brain and she claims she was told if she went ahead with labour, he wouldn't live long.

Devastated Danielle planned his funeral while she was pregnant but decided to leave it up to "nature" and Koen Curtis was born at 36 weeks.

He had to have surgery to put a shunt in his brain - but miraculously survived.

And now the one-year-old is home from hospital and is able to smile and play - skills medics thought he's never learn, Danielle says.

The proud stay at home mum-of-five, from Stockton, said: "He's doing brilliant; his hand coordination is brilliant.

"They didn't think he'd be able to do any of this. We were told he'd be severely disabled.

"The neurologist said his progress is amazing. His reflexes are not a problem. We don't know if he'll walk. I do believe he will in time.

"Developmentally, he's at the stage of a six-month-old.

"He's still here. He's a little fighter. Everyone's like 'he's a miracle.' .

"I would like to raise awareness for other parents that could be facing the same situation to not to give up on their babies as my child is proof."

Danielle first realised things were not going to be easy when she was 20 weeks pregnant in November 2022 and scans revealed he had no cerebellum.

"There was no hope for him," she said. "They told me if he does make it through childbirth, he'll have a short life span and be severely disabled.

"I broke down. I was sat on the bus home in tears.

"I was going to plan his funeral while I was pregnant. "I just wanted it in place. I wouldn't have been in the right frame of mind to plan it."

Every time she went to hospital for a scan doctors asked her if she wanted an abortion but she defiantly said no, she claims. "I don't agree with abortions," she said. "If I were to abort it, it would have been like murdering him."

On March 9 2023 she gave birth to 7lb Koen via C-section.

To the doctors' shock, Koen...

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