Tot defies odds to celebrate birthday

Local & National

Monday, January 14, 2008

By Claire Regan

A life-limited Belfast toddler who defied medical expectation by surviving longer than two weeks is today celebrating her third birthday - "one she was never supposed to have".

Little Aimeerose Quinn is being spoiled by her proud mum Kelly today as they quietly mark the milestone.

The Fortwilliam tot suffers from a rare heart and lung condition called pulmonary hypertension (PH). She also suffers from a hole in her heart, Down's Syndrome and epilepsy.

As a result of her complicated condition, she is permanently attached to an oxygen tank and can only be fed through a nasal tube.

Her 26-year-old mother was told her first baby would not survive longer than two weeks after her birth in January 2005.

But the brave youngster has defied expectation by battling on.

"We're marking Aimeerose's birthday very quietly as she hasn't been too well recently and she wouldn't be up to a party," she told the Belfast Telegraph.

"But it is an extremely special day for me as I never dreamed that she would reach her third birthday.

"If you had told me this time last year that I would still have Aimeerose on her third birthday, I would not have believed you.

"It was one she was never supposed to have.

"I certainly wouldn't have believed that when she was first born and was told she had just two weeks to live."

Ms Quinn paid tribute to her tot's determination to live.

"I don't know how Aimeerose does it, but she keeps battling on. She gets it from somewhere to keep going," she said.

"She has fought to stay alive for three years."

Kelly said the day is poignant because she doesn't know what the future will hold.

"We nearly lost Aimeerose in November 2006 when she was very ill. She was given just 24 hours to live then, but pulled through. She has deteriorated a lot in the last year and I really don't know what will happen now.

"Every single day is a blessing with her. Every moment we have together is a bonus to me."

Ms Quinn, who has a six-month-old son called Darryn, also paid tribute to the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice which has been caring for Aimeerose.

"She was in Horizon House for seven weeks before Christmas, but thankfully came home on Christmas Eve," she said.

"She has been in and out since then. We also have a nurse coming out every day to help.

"I really don't know what we'd do without them, the staff are fantastic. "