BRAVE little Brody Barrington has defied doctors' expectations as he prepares to celebrate his milestone third birthday.

Resuscitated just six days after birth, parents Nicki and Shaun were told he wouldn't make it past 12 months.

"It was completely out of the blue," mum Nicki said. "There were no problems at all, until suddenly he had to be resuscitated.

"We couldn't believe it – the day before he was just a healthy baby and there we were being told that he would die before he was one year old!"

Brody suffers from a number of health problems, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy, visual impairment and severe development delay.

The Cinderford tot is also wheelchair-bound, and has to cope with the rare microcephaly disease, for which there is no cure.

"His head is a lot smaller than it should be because of the microcephaly.

"There was a problem with his brain tissue which means his brain hasn't grown," Nicki explains.

"He really is a fighter though. He had to be rushed to Bristol in December to be put on life support and he was back there in January, but he's still not giving up."

Despite going through so much, Brody and the rest of the family are determined to stay positive.

"Even though he is blind, he still has a sharp ear – nothing gets past Brody!" Nicki laughs.

"He's had so much to cope with, for him to be three soon is completely unbelievable. He sure has proved everyone wrong!"

Nicola is appealing for donations for a raffle to raise money for the James Hopkins Trust which was founded by a Littledean couple.

Describing it as a life-saver, Nicki said: "They come and look after him so well, they've been there through everything.

"They always check on our other kids as well to make sure they are coping with it all – when he was on life support they rang every day to check how it was going."

Eight other Forest families use the trust, which needs £500,000 to extend and fund their overnight respite centre for children like Brody.

"They're priceless – we would have broken if it wasn't for them. It gives us all a chance to take a break, and Brody gets the care he needs.

"Three of us mums are organising a disco at the Oaklands and a raffle to help try to raise the funds, but it's really hard to get going.

"If anyone has anything they could donate it would really make a difference – we need to help keep the centre going for everyone who uses it."

To help with raffle prizes, call Nicki on 01594 829183 or email [email protected]">[email protected]