THE mother of a baby who has had five life-saving operations in the first 12 months of her life has praised her daughter’s zest for life.

One-year-old Harriet Gleason, described as a ‘little smiler’, was born with a large cyst on the brain, which has left her partially sighted and led to her developing hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid on the ventricles of the brain.

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The Pendle youngster’s mum, Faye Mccamon, said little Harriet was never without a smile on her face, despite her day to day difficulties.

Miss Mccamon, 27, of Charles Street, Nelson, said: “At the 20 weeks scan I found out that she had a really large cyst in the brain.

“They didn’t know her prognosis.They said she may be severely disabled or mildly delayed.

“I was given the option to terminate but decided against it.

“It was the worst moment of my life. I didn’t want to bring a child in to the world who would suffer and I had to balance that about what quality of life she would have.

“Seeing her now I can’t believe I even contemplated not having her because she is beautiful and amazing.

“She is delayed with her physical development. She can’t sit and she’s not crawling. And I am fearful that she will never walk. But she can hold a drink herself.

“She is the happiest child ever. She’s always smiling and is very sociable with other children.”

Shortly after Harriet was born doctors had to fit a tube in to her brain to allow excess fluid to run into her abdomen, a vary worrying time for Miss Mccamon and her partner Geoff Gleeson.

If that becomes blocked, they have warned Harriet’s condition could become critical and she could die.

Four days after being allowed home from hospital at three-weeks-old, Harriet had to go back into hospital to have the cyst drained.

That emergency surgery failed to cure the build up of fluid so Harriet had to have a shunt fitted.

Around eight weeks after that surgery the shunt blocked and the battling youngster had to have a new one fitted to cure the problem.

Doctors said she will now have that shunt for the rest of her life.

Just before her first birthday, Miss Mccamon said the tube blocked again, causing Harriet to fit.

She said: “The problem with shunts is that they can get blocked at any time or infected.

“It is life-threatening. There’s no indication of when it could next get blocked or if it will. But if it does and we are unable to get her to a specialist then she would be in real trouble.

“It means we’re unable to really plan ahead and go on holiday, but we don’t really mind that.”

Miss Mccamon said Harriet is a daddy’s girl and is also close to her brother Geoffrey Junior, five, and uncle Ryan, 13.

Most of Harriet’s medical treatment has been at ward 78 of Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

As a thank you for all the support the family received, Miss Mccamon is going to take part in a 40-mile fundraising walk through Pendle.

The walk has been organised by Darren Harrety, the partner of Miss Mccamon’s best friend Kat and will take place on August 6.

The route will be from Nelson to Skipton along the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

Taking part will be Miss Mccamon, Mr Harrety, Mrs Harrety and Maj Mahmoud although others are welcome. An initial fundraising target of £1,000 has been set.

Mr Harrety said: “We have decided to do a sponsored walk to raise funds for ward 78 which supports lots of children with brain injuries like Harriet and their families through difficult times.

“Many of these children undergo major operations throughout their stay and some require a large recovery making their stay a long one. By raising money towards funds for this ward we hope to improve their facilities or fund toys and things for the children in order to make their stay more comfortable.”