Boy born 'without a brain' makes incredible progress
A six-year-old born with only two per cent of his brain, is baffling medical professionals who say his brain “grew”, enabling him to become the bright little boy he is today.
Parents Shelly and Rob Wall said doctors advised them five times to terminate the pregnancy after scans revealed their son Noah had “no brain”.
The unborn baby was also found to have spina bifida and the couple was warned Noah’s chances of survival were slim, but they decided to continue with the pregnancy, they told Good Morning Britain.
However, a baffling follow-up scan revealed Noah’s brain had grown to 80 per cent of a “normal” sized brain by the time he was three.
Doctors told the child’s parents, from Cumbria, England, that Noah would be severely mentally disabled and unable to talk, see, hear or eat. But the bright six-year-old can do all of those things.
While Noah cannot yet walk, his dad described the bright little boy’s progress as 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,” he said in the TV interview.
The boy’s mum recalled the emotional turmoil of her baby’s first days, fearing the worst.
“We waited with bated breath and they put a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ notice on Noah,” Mrs Wall said.
Her husband said that because the couple were “older” parents, they were more resistant to doctors’ advice to terminate the pregnancy.
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“I think possibly if younger people were offered that choice, they may have felt pressured into taking it,” Mr Wall said.
“Because we’re older parents, we know our own minds and we’re positive people. We wanted to give Noah the chance of life.”
Mr and Mrs Wall have dedicated the past six years to their son’s brain development and have even brought him to Australia for world-leading brain treatment.
The therapy called neurophysics is reportedly a mixture of physiotherapy and cognitive exercises, which helped him learn how to sit up unaided. He even tried surfing while Down Under.
Noah now wants to learn to walk and wants to continue surfing.
While medical experts are baffled by the boy’s case, they say his progress is a result of “the brain’s ability to heal or correct the body’s nervous system,” his dad said.
News of Noah’s medical miracle comes after an unborn baby with spina bifida was removed from its mother’s womb for surgery then put back in,, in a groundbreaking operation.
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