This time last year Katie's cousin Dave and his wife Claire had their second child, Shannon. We were all so excited to welcome him into the family.

However things didn't go so well, and Shannon went in for open heart surgery at 6 days old.

We got a call a few hours into his operation saying that he hadn't had blood to any of his organs for 45 minutes. The doctors had told them that little Shannon may be paralyzed for life, and have brain damage.

Unbelievably his organs started to kick back in and he regained movement in his limbs. We rejoiced at this news, but it was only the start of his battle.

Dave called a few days later to let us know that Shannon had had a stroke and there was a blood clot in his brain. They did a brain scan which showed that half of his brain had stopped working.

He had to go in for more surgery on his heart, and was in intensive care for the first few weeks of his life.

I remember Dave and Claire being so amazing, so strong throughout the whole ordeal. Their faith was unbelievable but they never had any doubt that Shannon would make it through.

On this past Saturday we all got together for Shannon's first birthday party. Shannon's story is nothing short of a miracle. He is a happy, inquisitive little boy getting about and doing all the things, and more, he should for his age.

This a little video I shot at Shannon's 1st birthday party.

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
Music: Lydia Cole "Tonight"