WHEN Declan Johnson was born, doctors said every day he lived would be a bonus.

Now the child hailed a "little miracle" by his mother has defied the odds to reach his first birthday.

Declan has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), which means only the right side of his heart can pump blood around his body.

He was diagnosed when mum Emma Martin, of Hillside Walk, Blackburn, was 20 weeks pregnant.

Many children who suffer from the condition die within the first few days and doctors at Birmingham Children's Hospital were not hopeful when Declan was born.

Emma said: "They said his chances of surviving were slim as he was very poorly. They said each day he lived would be a bonus and didn't hold out much hope. We sometimes wondered if we would see this day and it's so special. He's our little miracle."

Declan has since had two operations but it is impossible to say how he will fare in future. Treatment for the condition involves re-routing the blood through the right side of the heart, bypassing blockages on the left side. It is done in three stages over three or more years and involves extremely high-risk open-heart surgery.

Emma, 23, said: "We just have to take each day as it comes. There's no saying what will happen because it's not something that can be cured. The oldest person they've treated at Birmingham is a boy who is now 15.

"He will have to go for another operation when he's about three but eventually the right side will give up entirely. He may need a transplant then but that could be a long way off."

Emma lives with her partner Edward Johnson, 30, and their two other children Chloe, five, and son Joshua, three. She said: "We all love Declan to bits and my other children dote on him, especially Chloe."

They celebrated yesterday with a party for Declan and all his family and friends.

A spokesman for HLHS support group Left Heart Matters said: "HLHS is a fairly rare problem and occurs in about 1 in 5,000 babies.

"It is extremely difficult to predict the long-term outlook for these children. In America, there are many more children who have undergone palliative surgery similar to that offered in Britain and who are now young adults.

"The possible long-term outcome will be that their hearts will gradually tire and begin to fail beyond treatment. It may be that transplantation will be the treatment of choice at this time. But this again is a high-risk treatment and it still does not provide a cure.

"At present in Britain this would not be a commonly offered treatment as there are very few baby size hearts available."