A MUM, who is ‘forever in debt’ to a children’s hospital, is set to raise £1,500 for the surgeons who saved her only child.

Katie Gent’s son Edward, who is two on February 18, was born with a rare and life-threatening illness called exomphalos major.

This was caused by a weakness in his abdominal wall, which caused his liver to protrude outside his tummy in a 10cm long sac. Edward also needed special care, as he was born 10 weeks early, weighing just 3lbs 3oz.

It was the second blow for Katie and her husband Michael, 33, after previously losing a baby at 23 weeks.

“The first time we realised, it was pure devastation,” said Katie, of Macclesfield Road, Holmes Chapel.

“After everything before, we thought: ‘What else can happen to us?’ He could have died. The difficulty with Edward was the complexity of him being so small as well.”

When Edward was born in 2009, he had to remain in hospital for three months and was constantly on a drip.

He returned home in May, but was rushed back to hospital until June.

Katie, 32, added: “Because he was born premature and had weak lungs, any cough or cold was a big issue. He was sick constantly.

“Edward struggled to walk and pull himself up, but he’s a determined little soul.”

Since returning to his parents, Edward has enjoyed playing with his cousins Alex, one, Sebby, five, and William, seven. But he usually received a few funny looks, when he was out with his parents shopping.

“People thought he’d been trying to shoplift, because it looked like he had something up his jumper,” said Katie.

After building up his strength, brave Edward has just had a successful six-hour operation to remove the sac at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

The operation was a big risk, as there was the danger that Edward could suffer organ damage or lose too much blood.

But if the family had decided against the procedure, they were told Edward would only live until he was around five.

Katie, who used to work at the NEC in Birmingham, said: “The most upsetting part was being advised by surgeons that we could lose him.

“We did it to give Edward a chance. It was very traumatic.

“But we just had the most amazing medical team. Without them, we wouldn’t have Edward – we’re forever in their debt.”

As a ‘thank you’ to the staff, Katie and her godmother’s partner Mark Cope will be abseiling 131ft down Birmingham Mailbox.

This is to raise money for Birmingham Children Hospital’s keyhole surgery fund to buy equipment that will be used to train surgeons nationwide.

To pledge your support for Katie, visit justgiving.com/katie-gent.