THE parents of a baby who underwent heart surgery have spoken of his miracle survival.

Monty Holbook-Morris, nowsix months, was born with a rare heart defect called tetralogy of fallot.

It was diagnosed when mum Joanna went for a scan at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London when she was 16 weeks pregnant.

Joanna and husband Ben, owner of Benjamin Charles hair salon, on Colchester’s North Hill, were warned Monty might not survive his birth.

Regular check-ups followed until Monty arrived, three weeks early, by emergency Caesarean at University College Hospital, London on July 19.

He weighed 5lbs 1.5oz and was also diagnosed with Downs syndrome.

Last month he underwent a nine-hour operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital to widen his pulmonary artery and moving his aorta, fixing the heart problem, The operation was a success, butMonty’s recovery was still not straightforward. Within a day he suffered renal failure, so his kidneys and livers were not properly filtering waste from his blood.

He had to be given drugs and was heavily monitored until he improved.

Dad Ben, 43, of Puffinsdale, Great Clacton, said it looked as if Monty was laying on a bed of spaghetti because he was surrounded by so many wires.

He was on a heart monitor and had chest drains.

He was kept under sedation for a week and paralysed by drugs to aid his recovery.

Gradually, Monty started to pull through, and two weeks ago, he came home.

His dad said said: “It’s great to have him home.

“We wake up at 4am because he wants a cuddle or food and not once have I got annoyed.

“At one point, when he was laying on the bed of spaghetti, I would have given anything to hear him cry.

“The hospital showed Monty relentless care, and looked after our four-year-old daughter, Olivia, too, helping her to understand what was going on.”

Monty next returns to Great Ormond Street for a check-up in three weeks, but is doing well.

Doctors say he should grow normally now, but may need another heart operation when he reaches puberty.

Benjamin Charles hair salon is organising a fundraising day on Friday, February 28, to raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

Staff will transform their hair into wacky styles for the day and will be dressed in onesies. Customers are being urged to give donations.