A MIRACLE baby who “died” when she was born has defied the odds after celebrating her sixth birthday.

Katie Quinn turned six this week after being born at 23 weeks into her mother’s trouser leg.

Mum Jo Quinn, 44, feared Katie might not survive as she had arrived so early it was even within the legal abortion limit of 24 weeks.

Jo says Katie was ‘born dead’ with ‘see through skin’ and weighed just 1.5lb. Seconds after birth Katie needed emergency resuscitation which miraculously brought her back to life.

Now Jo, from Mauchline, credits her daughter’s ‘strong determination’ for saving her life.

Jo said: “She wasn’t alive when she was born, they had to give her resuscitation while others drove us to hospital. She was dead when she arrived.

“But she was brought back in the ambulance and went into the hospital and they got her on the life support right away and luckily it worked first time.

“She had a kind of see through skin it was so thin, you could even see her heart.”

Jo shared the incredible moment she knew her inspiring daughter was going to pull through.

She said: “Her eyes were fused as if she was still in the womb and she was getting rushed into surgery for a major heart operation.

“She wasn’t medically fit enough to go to theatre so they had to do they surgery in the hospital ward.

“I was told her chances were very slim but right before she went in and I was saying goodbye she opened her eyes and I knew she would get through it and survive.”

Despite Katie suffering three brain bleeds and being diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a result of her premature birth, Jo says her little fighter is determined nothing will hold her back.

“They didn’t think she would ever be able to sit unaided or eat anything but she can do it all now.

“She can’t walk but she’s got her wee chair that is vibrant pink and purple so it suits her.

“She’s just kicks all her hurdles down, nothing is an issue.

“Anything people tell her she can’t do she goes and she proves them wrong.

“She’s amazing. If anyone is having a bad day, just think of Katie and how she’s always smiling and laid back, and tackles things head on.

“If you can’t go through it go around it, that’s the Katie-way. If she can’t do something the conventional way she will work out a way that suits her.

“I don’t think she would be alive if she wasn’t so determined. Having that big fight from the start made her who she is now.

“She really is a miracle.”