A MOTHER is to complete a sponsored abseil to raise money for the hospital staff who saved her baby’s life.

Katie Gent, originally from Powick, near Worcester, and now living in Cheshire, is doing the Mailbox Abseil to raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Mrs Gent said: “Knowing they couldn’t guarantee that he’d survive was really hard because by then he was a real little personality and my husband Michael and I simply couldn’t face the thought of losing him. We had already undergone fertility treatment and lost a baby at 23 weeks, so Edward was particularly precious to us.

“I’m a bit scared at the thought of jumping off the Mailbox, even attached to a rope, but when I think of what Edward’s been through, I know he’s already been braver than I’ll ever be and that’ll drive me on to take the plunge.

“My husband’s terrified of heights, so I’m actually doing the abseil with Edward’s godmother’s husband, Mark Cope.”

Staff at the hospital saved the life of her two-year-old son Edward, who was born 10 weeks early weighing just more than three pounds.

He had a hole in the heart and rare condition known as exomphalos where his abdominal wall had not fully closed and his bowel, liver and part of his stomach were developing in a sac outside his body.

Although doctors at Birmingham Children’s Hospital were able to slide Edward’s stomach and bowel back in, the liver remained outside resembling a massive hernia until he underwent several major operations to reposition it.

Mrs Gent plans to do the Mailbox Building Abseil in Birmingham tomorrow for Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he had the surgery last June.

The family moved to Cheshire a few months ago for her husband’s work, but come back for regular checkups.