A PROUD couple have given heartfelt thanks to staff at Salisbury District Hospital, for saving the life of their precious bundle of joy, who was born 13 weeks premature.

Tiny Chloe Evens was only 1lb 6oz and 20cm long when she was born by emergency Caesarean section on March 8.

She spent her first seven weeks fighting for her life on a ventilator, with her distraught parents, Paul and Sharon keeping a vigil at her bedside.

"They warned us it was going to be a rollercoaster and it was," said Mr Evens (36). "There were many times when we could have lost her but we never gave up hope."

Chloe needed six blood transfusions and constant doses of antibiotics to help her fight off a series of life-threatening infections.

She also had a small hole in her heart and staff had to feed her intravenously to keep her alive.

"She was so tiny, her whole body fitted into the palm of my hand," said Mr Evens.

"For weeks, nobody could promise us anything.

"All we could do was hope.

"She gave mummy her first cuddle on Mother's Day even though she was still in the incubator.

"It's hard to describe what it was like, sitting there for hour after hour, watching her connected to all these machines, just hoping for a miracle."

After 11 weeks in the incubator, Chloe was moved to a special nursery and her desperate parents finally heard the news they were waiting for.

"At last they started talking about her coming home," said Mrs Evens (34).

"It's hard to describe what a relief that was - I felt like a different person.

"The night before she came back, we were like children at Christmas - it felt as if we came back to life and had a glow inside."

On July 16, aged four months, Chloe finally arrived at her Ancient Way home, which was full of cards from wellwishers.

"The support we have had from our friends and family has been absolutely fantastic," said her delighted father, who runs Paul's Aerials.

"So many people have kept us in their thoughts and prayers, which gave us the strength to carry on."

The couple said they found it hard to express the depths of their gratitude to staff at the neonatal intensive care unit for saving their little girl.

"You often only hear about the NHS when something goes wrong but I cannot fault the quality of care they gave us all," said Mr Evens.

"Chloe is a little fighter but it's only because of the staff that we have her here today.

"They became like our family - every single one of them was wonderful."

At her last check-up, Chloe weighed 7lbs 1oz and doctors are delighted with her progress.

"We never thought the day would come when we could have our little angel at home," said Mr Evens.

"But suddenly there was light at the end of the tunnel.

"Chloe battled on and amazed everyone - she is our little miracle."