Youngster is a walking miracle
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MIRACLE child Cooper Fittall will make his family proud when he raises money for the neo natal unit which saved his life.
His distraught parents were told to go home and enjoy their baby as he was not expected to live beyond a year old because of severe complications from his premature birth.
However, as Cooper gets ready to celebrate his 10th birthday, the remarkable Boyndie youngster continues to bring joy to his family and others who know him.
The youngster hates getting his hair cut but along with mum Nicki, he will get his head shaved to raise money for the Friends of the Special Nursery at the Aberdeen Neo Natal Unit.
Cooper, who will be 10 on December 23, was born eight weeks early and weighed 2lbs 6oz, the equivalent of a bag of sugar.
He remained in the children’s hospital in Aberdeen for five months, eventually being allowed home the following May.
Nicki (42) and husband Eddie (45) were given the awful news that Cooper had a likely life expectancy of 6-12 months, and they should enjoy every moment with him.
They have done that and Cooper has continued to defy the odds and the many challenges he faces.
It was only in the last year that his condition was finally diagnosed as a metabolic disorder; a faulty gene and rare condition of which there are only 10 cases in the UK.
Cooper is totally deaf, cannot eat or drink normally and has to be tube-fed, suffers from spinal nerve abnormalities which means he has to wear a spinal jacket 20 hours a day, was born with only one kidney, had a cleft palate which has now been repaired, suffers from stomach ulcers and has chronic liver disease.
He relies on an intramuscular injection of vitamin B12 every month, administered by his mum, to keep him stable.
Cooper has had numerous operations over the years to manage his condition.
Despite all of that, you will rarely find the Banff Primary pupil without a smile on his face, said Nicki, who is his full-time carer.
"He is a really happy boy who just gets on with things," she said.
"We don’t know what the future holds but he is still here and is a walking miracle. We take each day as it comes," she added.
Cooper is now a proud uncle to little nephew Declan, who is just 11-months-old, and Cooper, who communicates largely through sign language, has already shown the tot the sign language for light and milk.
"Cooper is very happy but also cheeky and if he thinks he can get away with something, he will," said Nicki. "He has everybody wrapped around his finger.
"Cooper doesn’t speak but if he wants your attention he will shout and his little nephew has started doing the same."
Nicki and Eddie, a landscape gardener, also have a son Andrew (24), and daughters Shelby (19), Declan’s mum, and Caprice (17).
The couple subsequently discovered they are both carriers of the faulty gene, a situation Nicki described as a "freak of nature".
Cooper has ongoing health check-ups, including regular visits to Edinburgh to check his spinal jacket.
"The only time he cries is when he is poorly, and that is not very often. It is just a case of managing everything and it is good at the minute. He has only one kidney but that is working relatively well," said Nicki.
The staff and pupils at Banff Primary have been a source of great support for the family, with the children in Cooper’s class learning sign language so they can communicate with him.
A move to a more specialised support school in Fraserburgh might be on the cards in order to manage Cooper’s needs, however, he is enjoying school in Banff for now.
Nicki and Cooper have already raised £500 ahead of their twin head shave, and the school is helping them to fundraise.
A sponsorship form is available at the school for anybody who would like to add their support. Highland Industrial Supplies in Turriff, where Eddie used to work, have also agreed to support their fundraising efforts.
A head shave is a big challenge for Cooper, who has not had his hair cut since August.
"It takes four people to cut his hair because he hates getting it done," said Nicki, who will have her head shaved by Donna Wiseman from Whitehills.
Cooper likes technology and has an i-pad DS and enjoys watching television, however, one of his biggest thrills is riding with grandad Bill Fittall on his ride-on lawnmower.
