DREAM COME TRUE - CODY & JESSICA'S MIRACLE BABY

The Wheel Blacks captain welcomes gorgeous son Emilio

- Leena Tailor.

The words "home sweet home" couldn't ring truer for Wheel Blacks captain Cody Everson and wife Jessica Rose Everson. While the Christchurch couple recently bought their dream home, they barely had a chance to enjoy it while pursuing their gruelling and at-times life-threatening dream of starting a family.

It was a journey fraught with setbacks, heartache and a terrifying birthing ordeal that saw lives hanging in the balance before adorable son Emilio Jase Everson arrived on 6 July.

"It's pretty cool to look back on everything and have this outcome," Cody, 25, tells Woman's Day, gazing down at Emilio during the trio's first day home from hospital. "Being on the couch with our two dogs, watching Big Brother and looking down at Emilio feels surreal. He's such a cute little boy and so chilled, which is a dream."

Despite endless obstacles to fatherhood, Cody notes the couple still have four eggs frozen, so they may expand their brood further. He grew up with three brothers, which he credits for instilling the competitive nature that fuelled both his sporting achievements and fierce perseverance following a tragic accident at 15.

Having made the 1st XV and set on becoming an All Black, Cody's life changed after a tackle dislocated his C5-C6 neck vertebrae, crushing his spinal cord and leaving him paralysed from the chest down.