Little fighter given just five per cent chance of survival celebrates his first birthday

Leah Rogers, 21, thought she was suffering a miscarriage when she started bleeding just 23 weeks into her pregnancy on January 5 2020.

But doctors at Blackpool Victoria Hospital told her that she was going into labour - and that her baby, Jase-James Rogers, had just a five per cent chance of survival.

Leah, of Broughton Avenue, Layton, said: "It just happened so fast. They didn't even have to examine me. They just looked at me and knew he was coming.

"It was scary. My head was a mess. I was told that I was giving birth, and I wasn't going to be able to hold my baby in my arms."

Tiny Jase weighed just 1.1lbs - about the same as a block of butter or a can of soup - and suffered from two brain bleeds and a hole in his heart.

He was rushed to Royal Preston Hospital, where he was put on life support.

"He needed a lot of help," Leah said. "Life support was doing everything for him. He had wires all over his body. He was hooked up to so many machines to keep him alive."

Jase remained at Royal Preston for two months, then was transferred back to Blackpool Vic, where he remained on oxygen until May.

He had to have an operation at Liverpool Hospital to save his eyesight, and later underwent hernia repair surgery at Manchester Children's Hospital.

He was finally allowed to go home with Leah and dad William Maccready, 19, on May 9 - six days after his original due date.

Leah, a community carer, said: "We just had to take it day by day. We didn't know what each day would bring. My mum was a great support. I couldn't have done it without her.

"When he was discharged he was still on oxygen. He was on oxygen for a month or two. I didn't even sleep. I just sat up all night watching him breathe."

Eventually doctors said it was safe for Jase to breathe on his own.

Since then, Leah says he has come on 'leaps and bounds', and is just beginning to say his first words.

"He's recently trying to sit up on his own, and he's rolling over," she said; "He;s a really happy little boy. He always has a smile on his face. I've never seen such a happy baby in my life, considering what he's been through.

"If I'm honest, I never thought we'd get this far.

"It has been a heartbreaking, awful year. But my future holds Jase growing up and doing all the things he should be doing with his mum and his dad by his side."