Little Alaw can't sit, crawl or walk but she's got something that melts people's hearts

FROM the moment she was born, Alaw Evans has been a “little fighter”. When mum Ffion developed a rare pregnancy condition, a lack of oxygen left her with a catastrophic brain injury.

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor [e-mail]

After the birth, on Valentine’s Day, dad Barry was warned that both his wife and daughter might not survive.

Alaw was placed into neonatal intensive care and it was five days before Ffion was well enough to be wheeled to the unit to meet her.

Even when the pair were allowed home to Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, Alaw's battles were only just starting.

When she was almost two years old, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and a muscle spasm condition called dystonia.

Since then Alaw, now aged four, has fought back, her progress charted in what Ffion calls “inchstones” - the miniature version of milestones. “Our inchstones are what we call those little moments that for us are everything,” said Ffion.

“Those teeny tiny steps where Alaw is doing something really well, something we never thought we would see.

“Alaw isn’t able to sit up unaided, she doesn’t crawl, she doesn’t walk and she doesn’t stand without the support of a frame - but she has the most contagious giggle ever!

“She loves going on the swings, being pampered and having her curls brushed, and she loves to go swimming with the physios - last time she was so relaxed she giggled non-stop in the pool and all the way home too. For us these things are all massive.”