Kelan is a medical miracle
Thanks to the NHS, Kelan, Millie and Maisie live normal lives. And the couple, from Hardwicke, will always have a debt of gratitude to the NHS.
Kelan has haemophilia, which requires regular monitoring and injections of a special blood clotting substitute every other day.
His little sisters Maisie and Millie were born by Caesarian last August in the expert hands of a consultant obstetrician and a team of 17 more medics, and spent 21 days in a special care baby unit.
“When I see Kelan here now, feeding the twins their breakfast, spilling the milk and them laughing with him. I just stand there and watch in amazement,” said Mark, 37.
Kelan was just four-and-a-half-months old when a blood clot developed on his brain.
Like most other parents of a first born, Mark and Lindsay, 34, were revelling in their bundle of joy. But their world was turned upside down by haemophilia.
One of Kelan's problems is his blood lacks Factor VIII which helps the blood clot. A substitute for that is injected every other day – without it, a simple bump or fall could have very serious consequences.
Kelan's injections last year cost £86,000 alone (or £470 per jab) and his dose will be upped as he grows.
Kelan's condition meant he had long stays at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford in 2004, followed by many return visits to the Oxford Haemophilia Centre and Thrombosis Unit (OHCTU).
“If it was not for the quick thinking of Dr Miles Wagstaff, the consultant paediatrician at GRH (Gloucestershire Royal Hospital), I don't want to think what could have happened,” said Mark.
Lindsay added: “If it wasn't for the NHS providing Kelan's Factor VIII and the diagnosis, he would not be here.
“It's quite worrying when you think about what could have happened but we try not to think about it and get on with life. You see how well he is getting on at school now but what could have been, could have been devastating.”
Lindsay had a tough time with both pregnancies and the NHS looked after her on each occasion.
But its level of care stepped when it was discovered the twins had “twin to twin” transfusion syndrome (TTTS).
Sharing the same placenta, TTTS means blood is passed between the two foetus's, which can retard the growth of the blood "donor" and lead to heart failure in the recipient.
And the Watkins had a guardian angel, a man who guided Lindsay and the twins through an incredibly difficult time – consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Richard Hayman, based at Cheltenham General Hospital.
“He is fantastic,” said Mark. “We were watched so closely.
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