THE parents of a boy who died 19 hours after he was born have opened up about their battle to save their son on the anniversary of his death.

Adam Lang and Louise Bibby fought with everything they had to save baby Thomas who was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia - a diaphragm defect - when Ms Bibby was 20 weeks pregnant.

Mr Lang, 35, and Ms Bibby, 25, were told by doctors at Burnley General Hospital the natural hole in Thomas’s diaphragm was too large and resulted in his intestines pushing through into the chest cavity, preventing his left lung from developing properly.

The couple, who live in Oswaldtwistle, were told by doctors at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester that Thomas had a 10 per cent chance of survival.

Not wanting to give up, the pair fought for Thomas to undertake fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion surgery, still in its research phase.

The procedure involved placing a balloon in the baby’s airway, causing fluid to build up in the lungs and help them develop. The balloon is then removed a few weeks later to help the lungs mature.

However the operation, which took place in King’s College Hospital, London, was not a success as the balloon was exhaled by Thomas in the womb.

Now a year on since Thomas’ death, Mr Lang, who works as a joiner, said the loss of his son hit the couple very hard.

He said: “When he was born we knew he would be taken straight into intensive care.

“But the nurses put him on Louise and she managed to hold him for no more than 10 seconds before he was taken away.

“I followed him into intensive care and saw him open his big beautiful blue eyes.

“He managed to put his hands around my finger. I will never forget that.”

Mr Lang said their son’s death put strain on his relationship with Louise and they started having arguments.

He said: “I didn’t know what to do. I felt, and still feel, like I have a big hole in my chest that can’t be filled.

“I didn’t have a purpose, I didn’t feel like I had a goal.

“We spent every penny we had fighting for Thomas.

“We moved our lives to London for a month when Louise had her operation and we didn’t have our baby at the end of it.”

Mr Lang said he would encourage parents who go through the loss of a child to talk to each other about it.

He said: “I went straight back to work but it was too early for me.

“I didn’t talk to Louise about it, she would talk but I never did.

“But now we are learning to lean on each other and be there for one another.”

The couple have raised over £15,000 in a variety of fundraisers for St Mary’s Hospital.

The money was raised through a variety of events, including a black tie event held in October last year at the Mercure Blackburn Dunkenhalgh Hotel with several prizes, including signed football shirts and footballs, auctioned off.

The couple were also nominated for the inspirtational mother and father award at the Butterfly Awards.

A charity day was held at Fit4Life Health and Fitness centre in Rising Bridge Enterprise Village, Haslingden.

A 24-hour spin class and a 24-hour boxing round were held to raise money.

On the day of his anniversary, the pair released a balloon off Pendle Hill to remember Thomas.