THE BOY WITH 'NO BRAIN'
Boy born with MISSING brain defies huge odds to live – after ‘it GREW back’
Noah Wall's parents were asked five times if they wanted to terminate their pregnancy
A BOY born with just 2% of his brain defied the odds and is now a happy 6-year-old — after it 'grew back'.
Shelley and Rob Wall were advised to terminate the pregnancy FIVE TIMES after finding out that their baby had "no brain".
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Incredibly by the time Noah was 3 his brain had grown to 80% of the normal size.
Doctors also discovered that Noah had spina bifida and gave his very little chance of surviving.
Dad Rob said that many medics believed his unborn son had not developed a brain at all.
Others believed that the brain had actually just been squashed into a small space - and that after Noah had a shunt fitted, it grew back to where it should have been.
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The plucky youngster appeared on GMB with his parents to share his extraordinary story, which Richard Madley called "a miracle".
"Even if his brain had been so squashed up, he'd be severely mentally disabled because of all that damage and look at him - he's as bright as a button," said Rob.
He said that because they were older parents, the couple was more resistant to doctors' calls to terminate the pregnancy.
"I think possibly if younger people were offered that choice, they may have felt pressured into taking it.
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"Because we're older parents, we know our own minds and we're positive people. We wanted to give Noah the chance of life."
And it's paid off big time.
Docs told the parents that Noah would be severely mentally disabled - unable to talk, see, hear or eat.
But the six-year-old can do all of those things.
Noah was born 11/11 at 11 o'clock.
What is spina bifida?
Spina bifida is when a baby's spine and spinal cord don't develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine.
In most cases of spina bifida, surgery can be used to close the opening in the spine.
But the nervous system will usually already have been damaged, which can lead to problems such as:
- weakness or total paralysis of the legs
- bowel incontinence and urinary incontinence
- loss of skin sensation in the legs and around the bottom – the child is unable to feel hot or cold, which can lead to accidental injury
Most babies will go on to develop hydrocephalus (a build-up of fluid on the brain), which can further damage the brain.
As they get older, some can have learning difficulties.
"We waited with bated breath and they put a 'Do Not Resuscitate' notice on Noah," recalled mum-of-three Shelley.
Parents Shelley and Rob have dedicated their time to his brain development and have taken him over to Australia to a radical brain training centre.
Out there, he learned how to sit up unaided and even managed to go surfing.
Noah now wants to learn to walk and wants to continue learning how to surf and even start skiing.
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The treatment that Noah's been having in Oz is called "neurophysics" - a mixture of physiotherapy and cognitive exercises.
Rob explained that the experts out there don't usually do give the therapy to kids because of the cognitive side of things but they were lucky enough to be able to persuade them to see and assess Noah and prepare them for when he's old enough to have that cognitive treatment.
"It's all to do with the brain's ability to heal or correct the body's nervous system".
MORE ON PREGNANCY
The doctors who initially saw Noah and Shelley here in the UK admit that the plucky youngster is "extraordinary".
The family sends them emails, pictures and updates about Noah's progress, and the little boy even goes to visit and bring them presents at Christmas.
Danielle Westbrook tweeted the show to say that Noah was the "cutest little boy" - something which seemed to delight him.
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