Delivered 11-weeks early, Harry Smart was born with a killer condition that is fatal for 80% of those affected.
But after the life-saving care provided by the neonatal ward at Aberdeen’s Maternity Hospital the tot is now making a good recovery more than a year on.
Now family, friends and the local community have come together to raise funds and create “Harry’s Fund”.
Doctors had discovered early on that the boy was suffering from non-immune fetal hydrops, which causes large amounts of fluid to build up within a baby’s body and can crush developing organs.
Estimates say that more than half of all unborn babies who are diagnosed with the condition die in the womb.
With the odds already stacked against him, medical professionals also discovered that he had a ruptured bowel which required immediate surgery.
After the surgery and 96 days in Aberdeen Maternity Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, his parents – Sarah Lawson and fiance Callum Smart – were finally allowed to take their son home on Easter Sunday.
Since then the pair, along with the help of family and friends have worked hard to give back to the staff who saved their baby boy.
Running a number of events throughout the year they have been able to turn up over £7,200 in the name of the neonatal ward.
Their most recent endeavour for funds was a charity family photo session, after attending a ceilidh run by the family – photographer Kevin Buchan from Eastside photography was inspired by the youngster’s fight and wanted to get involved.
He said: “I had gone along to the ceilidh to take pictures of the event, but unfortunately Harry wasn’t well enough to attend.
“Still wanting to help, we organised a photo session which was attended by families from across Aberdeenshire, many of whom had their own stories of how the neonatal ward had helped them.”
After raising more than £500 at the event, Mr Buchan has since set up “Harry’s Fund” and plans to donate 10% of every private commission he takes in 2021 to it and by extension the neonatal unit.
Harry’s mum, Sarah Lawson has no plans of slowing down when it comes to fundraising.
The 23-year-old said: “Coronavirus has obviously made it harder to do events, but we’re hoping that we can get to the £10,000 mark by the end of next year by continuing to set stuff up.
“The most recent cheque we handed in was for £1,011 and we just hope to do more next year, we just want to keep on going really, keep helping where we can.”
