When Abbey Henderson was pregnant with her son, Leo, she was told that there was a chance her baby would not survive.
Throughout her pregnancy, Abbey feared the worst, and when Leo was finally born he appeared well and healthy - his family were overjoyed. But the family soon discovered that Leo was born blind and had numerous rare brain abnormalities, alongside many other issues.
Because of the difficulties Leo faces on a daily basis, his family were hoping to raise funds for expensive private physiotherapy sessions in order for Leo to reach his full potential. And now, after a GoFundMe campaign was launched, Leo will be able to undergo those sessions after over £1,000 was raised for him.
Read more: Northumberland dad, 28, diagnosed with rare cancer just two months after birth of son
Speaking to ChronicleLive, Abbey, 22, who lives in Blaydon, said: "When I was 17 weeks pregnant I was told there was more fluid on one side of Leo's head than the other. At 21 weeks they found a Blake’s pouch cyst and absent corpus collosum, which then led to a very invasive test. Fortunately, the test came back fine but it was horrible because there were times that I was being told Leo might not survive.
"During the pregnancy, I was told Leo might not be able to breathe on his own, but when I gave birth and he did all of those things on his own, it was a massive relief. He was then in special care for six-and-a-half weeks with jaundice before going to Leeds Hospital to see if he had liver problems. That's when we found out he had a hormone deficiency."
At around four-months-old, Leo then began suffering seizures, with Abbey saying he could have numerous seizures in one day alone. As Leo prepares to turn two-years-old in July, he is currently on four different types of medication to control his seizures
Abbey, who postponed her studies at Northumbria University to care for Leo, continued: "He's nearly two now and he still can't sit up on his own, he gets his bloods checked regularly to make sure he's in the normal hormone range. He can't move his right arm properly and we really don't know what he will be like when he's older, we have to take each day as it comes. We don't know if he'll even be able to crawl, or hold his head up unassisted.
"He has very poor coordination due to having little to no eyesight and is fed by mic-key button. Due to only getting physiotherapy for an hour every two weeks, Leo is suffering and unable to meet his full potential so we'd like him to undergo more sessions."
Despite Leo's difficulties, which also involve open lipped unilateral schizencephaly, optic nerve hypoplasia, panhypopituitarism, diabetes insipidus and dysphagia, Abbey says her son is loved dearly by everyone who meets him.
She added: "He's gorgeous, absolutely lush. He doesn't cry, is so happy and smiley and is laughing all day everyday. Everyone who meets him loves him."
