A MIRACLE baby who doctors feared may not survive to see his first birthday is gearing up to celebrate his big day.

Little Braydon Boyland from Port Glasgow was born with multiple heart defects and has already undergone two major operations and spent most of his young life, including his first Christmas, in hospital.

Doting mum Paige McFarlane, 21, said: “He’s very interactive — he’s sitting up on his own and wanting to walk. 

“He’s almost 11 months now and is a wee miracle. For everything he’s been through, he’s just a happy baby, precious and beautiful.”

Alarm bells first sounded at Paige’s 20-week scan, when doctors at Inverclyde Royal Hospital found a hole in Braydon’s heart.

They referred his mum to a specialist foetal medicine unit within the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

First-time parents Paige and partner Ross Boyland, 22, of Brown Street, were distraught.

Paige said: “We were told  he had a hole in the heart and the arteries were facing the wrong way. 

“We were all a mess. We were devastated.”

Worse news was to come when a more detailed scan revealed the extent of Braydon’s condition.

It showed multiple defects, including pulmonary artesia, and transposition of the great arteries which can lead to breathing difficulties as the de-oxygenated blood cannot get into the lungs.

The second defect means that the two main blood vessels leaving the heart, the pulmonary artery, which takes blood to the lungs, and the aorta ,which takes blood from the heart to the body, are swapped over.

The condition was considered so grave that medics asked the couple if they wanted a termination.

Paige said: “I knew immediately that wasn’t an option. I couldn’t have lived with myself.”

Braydon was born six weeks premature as Paige was rushed into hospital suffering from pre-eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition.

He weighed only 4lbs 6oz and medics had to wait until he was big enough before he could cope with his first operation.

Paige said the surgeon told them about the potentially fatal risk involved with the surgery to insert a shunt to increase the blood flow to Braydon’s lungs.

She said: “He said if he was to carry out the procedure on 10 babies, one wouldn’t make it.

“The operation was a success, but initially Braydon rejected the shunt, so they had to open up his chest again and flush it out. His chest was left open for four days to reduce the swelling.

“He later contracted an infection, I think partly because the stitches didn’t dissolve properly.”

The tot was finally well enough to be allowed home for the first time in September, only to be rushed back into hospital three days later.

Paige said: “We were in Tesco and he turned blue and unresponsive. He was rushed back to hospital and was put on a ventilator so he could get a CT scan.

“A few weeks later they tried to put a catheter into a blood vessel in his groin up to his heart but the artery had closed over, so that wasn’t possible. He had lost the use of his left lung.”

Two days before Christmas Braydon underwent a second operation to install a left-sided shunt but because he was on blood-thinning medication, it was more high risk to stop the medication and as a result he suffered internal bleeding.

Because he had a weld on his chest from the infection medics had to go through Braydon’s side and his tiny rib cage.

Paige said: “The second surgery was harder as Braydon was a bit more aware. Ross took him him in to to get the anaesthetic to put him sleep — I couldn’t do it.

“He went on a ventilator on December 23 and came off on December 27 and he was allowed home on January 3.

“It was amazing to get him home but also terrifying in case anything else happened

“He’s been in hospital most of his life so far.”

It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions for Paige, Ross and all the family.

Paige said: “If you could take it all for him, you would. He’s been through more than anyone I know, but he’s always smiling. He’s our wee soldier.”

Braydon also faces the prospect of several more operations as the shunts will need to be replaced as he grows.

Paige said: “There’s a risk that he may need a heart transplant and probably won’t be able to do active sports when he is older.”

Braydon’s parents want to thank everyone who has helped them, from surgeons and doctors to the cardiac liaison nurses, as well as both their friends and families for all their support through this traumatic journey.