Little Charlie Fielding and his twin sister Poppy had a tough start in life when they were born prematurely at just 30 weeks.
While Poppy went home at six weeks old, Charlie struggled to feed and had to stay in hospital for another two weeks, according to The Mirror.
Parents Jamie and Becky were delighted to have him at home at last and despite struggling with respiratory problems for the first year of his life, the little boy appeared to have turned a corner after his first birthday.
Jamie explained: "He hadn't had any respiratory problems for eight months and was starting to make positive progress. He was starting to crawl and move around."
At 18 months old, the little boy was beginning to learn to walk and could toddle around while holding onto his parents’ hands.
Then tragedy struck last October when Charlie woke in distress. His parents realised there was something wrong with his movements immediately.
"We couldn't put him on the ground. Normally he would crawl around, but he was very floppy and limp on the floor. He wasn't willing to bear weight on his legs. It was like he couldn't do it rather than that he didn't want to," Jamie said.
After three days in a local hospital, Charlie’s condition deteriorated and he was barely able to move. He was transferred to Southampton General Hospital where doctors diagnosed him with arteriovenous malformation - a problem with his blood vessels, which caused them to swell.
The swelling had put pressure on his spinal cord, causing an irreversible spinal cord injury.
Jamie said: "He was born with a misconnection of blood vessels which meant that the veins were taking high-pressure blood and it was causing them to swirl around in his spine. This meant that the vessels started to swell.”
Charlie had an operation to help the blood flow in his body but he remains paralysed. Jamie explained how devastating the news of Charlie’s paralysis was for the family.
“It is heartbreaking. You don't expect to be buying a wheelchair for your two-year-old son.
"As a dad, you imagine having a kickaround in the park on a Sunday.”
However, the family remain hopeful because of several improvements in Charlie’s condition.
“Doctors had told us that he wouldn't regain any bladder function, but now he can wee by himself. He can sort of commando crawl at the minute. He is getting stronger every day,” Jamie said.
The family are currently crowdfunding for private physiotherapy treatment and special equipment to help Charlie.
“It is about keeping his body in good condition and keeping his spine and hips aligned. If in the future, there may be more treatment available, we don't want him to deteriorate in the meantime," Jamie said. "He needs to have the best chance possible.”
To support their appeal, click here.
