‘Fighter’ Harlyn battles back after family told he would die

Newly-pregnant Zara Stevens was devastated when doctors broke the news every woman dreads – that her baby might die in the womb.

She went from the happiness and joy of discovering she was expecting to not knowing if her longed-for baby would even survive.

Weeks later, Zara wept tears of joy when she was told her baby would likely pull through.

The nurse told Zara that her baby had Down’s syndrome.

She and her husband Alan are the proud parents of sixmonth-old Harlyn who survived and came in a big hurry at just over 36 weeks, weighing in at 4lbs 3ozs.

Zara, 30, from Kirriemuir, said: “When the nurse phoned with the news she was very apologetic.

“However, I cried tears of joy because I knew then that my baby wasn’t going to die.

“I was just so happy and relieved that our baby wasn’t going to die – it doesn’t bother us at all that he has Down’s syndrome.”

Zara said that there had been no indication of any problems until she had a scan.

Dad Alan. 29, who works in his family’s blinds business in Brechin, said: “We’ve been told that the first year for him is the most crucial and that after that we can start to relax a little bit.

“We still need to find out the level of his condition, but we are confident he will have a happy and fulfilling future.

“Having been told that we might lose him, we are just so grateful he is here.”

Zara described Harlyn as a “fighter” and said he was their little miracle.

“He’s had quite a start to life and the journey so far has been amazing,” she said.