FINN HARRON

FORMER yoga teacher Amy Harron, 34, is married to healthcare manager Harry, 45, and they live in Downpatrick. They have a son Finn, four, and a 15-month-old daughter Faye. She says: ‘OUR son Finn is so lucky — he got to spend two years at Mencap, which is unusual. He just finished there last week and it was very emotional.

At our 20-week scan with Finn they suspected he had a heart condition and it was confirmed at 24 weeks that he had complete atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD). From then we were prepared for the fact that he would need heart surgery after he was born. We also knew there was a chance he would have Down Syndrome because a lot of children who have complete AVSD do. We were offered further testing but we declined because it wouldn’t have made any difference to us.

He had heart surgery at five-and-ahalf months in Birmingham Children’s Hospital, he also had a number of bowel surgeries because he has a condition called Hirschsprung’s and has a colostomy bag. He also had sepsis following one of the surgeries. But that all seems very distant now.

By the time he started in Mencap in September he was two and the only one who wasn’t walking, because the sepsis had set him back. By October he started to take steps. Obviously all the therapies he had there were invaluable. Before Mencap, we probably had therapy appointments every three to four weeks or even months. In Mencap he was having therapies every day, saturated with support.

By December he was walking around the room. Then he went from strength to strength. He said an 11word sentence accurately yesterday. It’s phenomenal. You can really have a conversation with him now.

I’m 100% he wouldn’t have come on as well if we were relying on community therapy and our work at home. It’s like comparing night with day.’