Portsmouth parents celebrate landmark birthday as Max turns one today
That is the sentiment behind the first birthday celebrations of little Max Olivares who has never left hospital due to a heart problem.
The one-year-old will be surrounded by parents Hannah Bloomfield and Wayne Olivares and the rest of his family to celebrate the landmark occasion.
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Hide AdMax was born at 27 weeks on December 5 last year weighing just 2lb 2oz.
But since his birth, the youngster has undergone a number of operations and life-threatening illnesses after being diagnosed with pulmonary vein stenosis.
It is a rare and serious condition where there is a blockage in the blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood from the lungs back to the heart.
Max was less than three weeks old when he had his first operation and has had many since as well as having tracheostomies fitted to help with his breathing.
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Hide AdHannah, from North End, has organised a birthday cake for Max which they will cut at Southampton General Hospital, where he is being cared for.
The 23-year-old said: ‘We just want to give Max the best possible birthday he can have.
‘We want to have a happy day with lots of laughs. We don’t know if this will be the first and last birthday that we get to celebrate.
‘He will have a big birthday cake and all the family are coming to see him.
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Hide Ad‘Despite everything he has been through he is such a happy baby and is always smiling.’
The only hope for Max’s illness to improve is a lung and heart transplant but, until that happens doctors are working to extend his life.
On December 14, he will have a heart operation to try and open his vessels.
Hannah said: ‘He is our little fighter. He always manages to pull through.
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Hide Ad‘It is amazing what he has been through his whole life and how he has got through it.
‘Max has nearly died a few times and he has spent most of his life in the intensive care unit. We had a scare last Christmas but thankfully he’s pulled through.
‘The last year has been heartbreaking. It has been a rollercoaster and we have barely gone a month without getting some sort of bad news.
‘But we really want to make his birthday a happy one.’