Tiny and unable to breathe on her own, Siobhan Williams was not expected to survive her first day, let alone reach her 18th birthday.
The one-time sugar bag baby has the sweetest feeling about coming of age after a series of battles to survive.
Siobhan, of Bendall Road, Kingstanding, defied doctors’ pessimistic predictions with her will to live after being born three months early at Good Hope Hospital, in Sutton Coldfield, on May 6, 1991.
Medics had to carry out an emergency Caesarean on her 18-year-old mother, Caroline, when toxaemia and high blood pressure put the expectant mum’s life on the line.
Despite being born weighing only 1lb 14oz, Siobhan was eventually sent home with an oxygen tank five months later and became one of the first tots to survive at such an early age.
Her mother, Caroline, said: “It is really special for me and my husband Robert to see Siobhan reach this day, knowing everything that she has been through. When Siobhan was born, she was so weak and small, and doctors kept warning us she wouldn’t survive and to have her christened.
“She had a bad start to life with only a 40 per cent chance of survival, but she has come through all that to be the wonderful person she is today. Siobhan has never let her health problems get in the way, she is an inspiration.”
Siobhan, a former pupil at Langley Infants’, has faced various treatments over the years and an operation to fit a metal rod in her back to straighten her spine.
She is now studying fashion design at Sutton Coldfield College.
