Bouncing away in his baby chair, little Wesley Gibson is the picture of happiness and the apple of his mother's eye.

It's a vision the little boy's doting family will never take for granted, especially after his near-death experience just a day after their dream wedding.

The traumatic incident happened two weeks ago at home in Ramsgate; just hours earlier Sophie and Wesley’s dad Matt tied the knot at St Augustine's in Margate.

They even gave their son the job of ring bearer on their special day, which was also enjoyed by older sister, Alisha.

But their joy turned into sickening fear 24 hours when he became gravely ill.

Sophie said: “He just stopped breathing; I had to give him mouth-to-mouth in the car to the hospital which you never expect to do on your own child.”

The 30-year-old held the 11-month-old’s limp body tightly in her arms before running into the QEQM in Margate screaming for help.

“They came running over and started working on him,” she said.

“I couldn’t believe what was happening. I just kept saying to him, 'don't leave me'."

After emergency treatment in Margate the little boy was taken to the Evelina hospital in London, where he steadily improved.

Wesley was born with multiple heart problems, including leaky valves, a hole in the heart and arteries the wrong way round.

“He only has half a heart; he was also born without a spleen and needs to take regular antibiotics,” she said.

“I found out at 20 weeks pregnant about his heart problems and the doctors asked me three times whether I wanted to terminate him; they said he would not survive the birth.”

But their precious son survived and 'Wesley the Warrior' progressed ahead of healthy babies, walking, brushing his teeth and even potty training before the traumatic incident.

Wesley will now have a major operation within the next six months and will eventually require a pacemaker to be fitted.

In the meantime, to thank the hard-working team at the famous Evelina hospital, Wesley’s nan, Catrina Longley, plans to have cut her hair at 9am on November 2.

The 53-year-old, who has always had long hair, will cut her locks off at the Dame Janet School in Ramsgate, where seven-year-old Alisha attends.

She said: “People can pay to cut some of my hair off and then I am going to get it shaved properly.

“Starlines are then going to tattoo 'I got this done for the Evelina, what have you done?' on the back of my head, which they are doing for free.

“I won’t be wearing a hat afterwards!”

To find out more information and to donate visit the Evelina website