BRAVE KINGSLEY: Our bub's CHANGING THE WORLD

Brooke's brave little boy is facing his challenges head on

-  Lizzy Dimopoulos

Brooke Atkins, 33, Coombabah, Qld

Squeezing my partner Kewene's hand in the delivery room, our baby's cries filled the room.

'It's a boy!' the doctor confirmed with a cheer.

Wrapping our little guy in a blanket, the nurse placed him on my chest.

'Welcome to the world, Kingsley,' I whispered, holding him tight.

Still in my love bubble, I hadn't noticed the doctors gathering around my bedside.

'They're concerned about the mark on his face,' Kewene said, adding it might be a bruise from delivery.

'He looks perfect to me,' I said.

His little face was bright red so it was hard to see any mark.

But when he fell asleep in my arms, I noticed it.

Moments later, the neonatal doctor visited.

'Kingsley has a port wine stain,' he said, explaining swollen blood vessels create a red-purple discolouration of the skin.

While some birthmarks are harmless, Kingsley's had the potential to be harmful due to its position.

'We're going to run some tests,' doctors said.

Whisked away for an eye test, MRI and ultrasound, our little boy was only a few hours old.

'Kingsley has glaucoma in his left eye but it's nothing to be concerned about at this point,' a doctor said.

It meant the nerve connecting the eye to the brain was damaged, usually due to high eye pressure.

Taking our bub home, our daughter, Amarni, then two, couldn't wait to meet her little brother.

Diagnosed from a young age with autism, Amarni is non-verbal, but her waving hands and smile said it all.