“Every time I spend a ten pound note, I’m reminded how small he was when he was born and how far he has come.”
These are the words of mother Katrina Byers, who was advised to abort her son Levi after he stopped growing in the womb.
Doctors warned that he might only live for a few days and that the health problems he was born with could result in permanent disabilities.
First steps
But three years later, after a series of operations, he has just taken his first steps and is doing well.
When Levi was born he weighed just 2lbs and was about the size of a ten pound note.
Doctors offered Katrina the option of having an abortion after her 16 week scan when they discovered that Levi was only the size of a 9-week-old unborn baby.
No way
She told the Daily Mail: “They had no idea why he was so small. There was still a risk of me miscarrying or that he might be born with a genetic disorder.
“But there was no way I was going to terminate his life. He’d hung on this long, I wanted to meet my son.”
In October 2011, when she was just 32 weeks pregnant, doctors carried out an emergency caesarean.
Struggle
Katrina said: “He was so tiny I couldn’t believe that anything so tiny would possibly survive”.
Levi’s struggle had just begun. Over the next three years, he battled through a series of operations to fix three holes in his heart, reflux and a twisted bowel.
“It was such a lot for his tiny body to cope with”, said Katrina, “yet he kept smiling all the way through it”.
Always smiling
She added: “He’s always smiling and all his friends love him, even though he can’t keep up with them.”
Today, Levi weighs 20lbs – the size of a 12-month-old baby – and has just started to walk.
To hear more stories of women who chose life instead of abortion visit our Choose Life page.