Father Who Was Given 10% Chance of Living at Birth Hails Miraculous Survival of His Own Infant Son

Teresa Neumann : Jan 28, 2011
Staff - The Daily Mail

"You need to have hope—hope and patience; you just have to believe really."

(United Kingdom)—When Matt Ingham was born 31 years ago at King's College Hospital in London, he was only given a 10% chance of survival. So, when Matt's wife, Kylie, 20-weeks pregnant, was told by her doctors that she should consider an abortion because a prenatal scan showed their baby suffered from Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), she and her husband said "no."

CDH, as reported in The Daily Mail, is a rare condition in which the diaphragm is not fully formed, and as a result, adversely affects many other organs. One of two babies reportedly dies of the condition before birth. After birth, surgery is necessary, with babies facing a 50/50 survival rate.

"We were both crying," noted Mrs. Ingham, when they first heard the prognosis. "I felt as though they [the doctors] were saying to me, 'you are only 22, why should you want a baby with issues?' But once I said I was keeping him, their whole attitude changed...and the same day we were asked if we wanted to take part in some research." (Photo: Peter Lawson/Eastnews Press Agency LTD)

The Ingham's agreed, and choosing to have their baby delivered in the same Hospital Mr. Ingham was born in, they welcomed their son Isaac into the world in October of 2010.

According to the report, little Isaac underwent a complicated six-hour surgery and made a full recovery. His dad calls his son's survival a "miracle."

Said Mrs. Ingham: "I just feel sorry for anyone who has got rid of their baby, never knowing that outcome of what happened. You need to have hope—hope and patience; you just have to believe really."