A baby boy born with a serious medical condition in his brain has defied the odds – after facing a major health crisis when he was just hours old.

But little Dominic Wight has been left covered in bright red birthmarks – that may never fade.

Legal assistant Meagan, 32, from Alberta, Canada, was only 32 weeks pregnant when she went into premature labour in February.

An ultrasound scan revealed a bright spot on Dominic’s liver, and medics told his parents he had an enlarged heart.

They performed an emergency C-section, and Dominic was rushed to neonatal intensive care.

Neurologists told Meagan and her husband Jarrod that their son was suffering from two arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), a rare tangle of abnormal arteries and veins that can cause serious complications.

Dominic had an AVM in his liver, and another in his brain, which caused bleeding and led to a serious neurological event.

Warned their son’s condition was extremely critical, Meagan and Jarrod did their best to make the most of their time with him, taking photos, tucking him into bed and christening him.

They made the heartbreaking decision to focus on comfort care, believing Dominic might not recover.

But they were shocked when the little fighter continued to hold on.

He’s now a smiley four-month-old baby, his mum said.

He is covered in dozens of bright red spots, which his parents have been told are birthmarks, not linked to his other health problems.

“The first glimpse I had of him, he was blue and his skin was covered with spots, he wasn’t crying,” Meagan said.

“I thought the worst, but then he let out the weakest cry.”

As they rushed her son to intensive care, Meagan told her husband to stay with him.

“I dragged myself from my bed to a wheelchair, the spinal tap hadn’t even worn off,” she said.

“And I demanded a nurse take me to him.

“When I got there, I could hardly see him under all the wires and tapes.”

The next morning, Meagan checked out of hospital – against doctors’ advice.

“I still had hope that it was just preemie issues, but my world was about to fall apart,” she said.

It was then doctors delivered devastating news to the couple.

The AVM in Dominic’s liver was putting a huge amount of pressure on his heart, and another in his brain had caused severe complications.

Meagan said: “They told us that it had bled and affected his brain.

“The impact was significant — part of his right temporal lobe was no longer functioning as expected.

“The neurologist told us he may never fully regain awareness, and if he did we could be dealing with long-term physical and developmental challenges, as well as possible vision or hearing difficulties.”

Doctors warned the situation was extremely serious, and advised that the couple consider comfort-focused care for their son.

“I felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room,” Meagan added.

“We talked about what might happen and made plans.

“All I could think was I can’t make these choices, I wanted to run away.

“We were expecting him to gradually slip away, but he didn’t. He kept fighting.”

Doctors, amazed at his progress, began active treatment again, and he pushed through three difficult nights.

Biopsy results showed the spots on his skin are normal birthmarks, Meagan said.

Dominic has experienced some lasting effects from his brain injury, and doctors have warned he could have some level of vision impairment.

The AVM in his liver has been successfully treated, and he will have to undergo brain surgery at some stage to address the AVM in his brain.

Meagan said: “We were in shock, firstly he was born almost eight weeks early.

“And secondly, all our scans appeared normal, we were not expecting a baby with medical complications.

“Then as we lived through the NICU experience, we went from overwhelming grief when we thought he wouldn’t survive, to joy as he continued to fight.”

Specialists have told the couple the bright red spots covering Dominic are a separate condition.

Meagan said her daughter now wants to put spots on all her dolls, and added that strangers think it’s chicken pox or measles.

“Most people are just curious and are usually respectful,” she said.

“But recently we had a man just look at him and say, ‘ewwww’.

“I was in shock, I didn’t even really know how to respond.”

She said she hopes her son’s spots will fade as he gets older, fearing he could be teased at school.

“Given everything he has to deal with, I hope they just disappear and he can look like everyone else,” she added.

Now, Meagan is on a mission to raise awareness and inform others about life-threatening AVMs.

Many people live from scan to scan, waiting to see if further treatment is needed.

“There has to be something that can be done to better support people with this condition,” Meagan said.

“The outpouring of love from our friends and family is what is helping us get through this situation.

“They only see the little fighter who came back from the brink.

“He is very loved by our family and friends. We all affectionately call him Spot, like in 101 Dalmatians.”