Hartlepool girl Evie defies the odds to reach milestone birthday

But courageous Evie McCabe has defied all the odds and is about to celebrate her fifth birthday.

To celebrate the landmark achievement, her family will have her blessed in a ceremony at St James’ Church in Hartlepool on Mother’s Day, March 6, along with big sister Jersey.

And then, Evie’s milestone birthday arrives in July with mum Shelley Coull, 40, admitting: “She is amazing. She might be trapped in her own body but knows what she wants and she uses her eyes all the time to speak to us.”

Shelley - who is her full-time carer and also has a nine-year-old daughter Jersey McCabe - said Evie was her very own little miracle.

And today, Evie becomes the first person to be nominated for this year’s Best of Hartlepool Award.

Shelley added: “That’s absolutely wonderful. It makes me feel so good to think that other people are thinking of her.”

Evie has a number of health conditions including four-limb cerebral palsy, epilepsy, extensor spasms, microcephaly, severe neonatal encephalopathy, and hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy

She needs 24-hour care, suffers epileptic seizures every day and spent the first ten weeks of her life in hospital where has been a regular ever since.

Her fight for life began almost as soon as she was born. Doctors told her family she would live for between five minutes and five hours

She was placed on a life support machine and her family was told that nothing more could be done for her.

Her life support machine was switched off yet Evie suddenly began breathing on her own.

Since then, regular health battles have ensued and the last one was only last October when she was rushed to the University Hospital of North Tees with a viral infection.

For three weeks, she fought the infection while doctors carried out tests. Her weight plummeted to less than 11 kilos and Shelley said: “She was very white and very thin. She was quite lifeless and there were no smiles.”

At the same time, Evie suffered numerous seizures yet she battled back to health.

And for the first time in her life, she spent all of Christmas and the New Year at the family’s Moffat Road home instead of a hospital ward. In 2014, she was an inpatient at North Tees when she suffered a seizure on Christmas Day.

But just lately, the news has been all good for Evie and her family.

Shelley added: “We are having a blessing on Mother’s Day because it will be special for me as well.”

Evie has also started as a pupil at Springwell School in Hartlepool and “absolutely loves it.”

And now comes the news of her awards nomination which was made by family friend Zoe Neesam, 23, whose son Callum Smith passed away aged three in February last year.

Callum and Evie were inseparable friends at playgroup.

Zoe nominated Evie and said; “She absolutely deserves it more than anyone I know.

“She is amazing and I hope she wins.”

This year’s Best of Hartlepool competition is up and running and people have until April 2 to nominate. Judging of the awards will take place on April 5 before the grand finale of the competition on April 26 at the Hardwick Hall Hotel.

All we need now is nominations for the heroes of Hartlepool in all sorts of categories listed below.

So come on get nominating and let’s honour those heroes.

To nominate, fill in the form in today’s paper or visit www.jpne-events.co.uk