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Faith Richmond and her partner, Tom Noble, 30, were overjoyed in August 2024 when they found out they were expecting a baby - but things quickly took a turn for the worse. At around six weeks, they underwent a private viability scan, which confirmed a healthy pregnancy with a detectable heartbeat, and "everything seemed fine". Their 12-week NHS scan revealed no abnormalities, and the genetic screening results came back clear. However, at 15 weeks during a private gender scan, they learned they were expecting a son - but medics couldn't detect his left arm. Faith, 33, a hairdresser from Middleton St George, County Durham, said: "It was a massive shock, like an out-of-body experience." The couple were referred to Darlington Memorial Hospital, where medical staff confirmed "that the baby's hand was missing", and recommended additional testing in case "he was severely poorly". They were later referred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where their baby was diagnosed with amniotic band syndrome. Medical professionals explained that a band had "severed" his left hand from the mid-forearm, reassuring them he wouldn't have experienced any pain as his "pain receptors had not developed yet". According to the NHS , amniotic band syndrome is exceptionally rare and can be caused by the baby kicking its foot through the amniotic sac early on in development, causing a band of tissue to form inside the womb, which the baby then gets caught up in. Following the diagnosis, the couple attended weekly appointments at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough for monitoring scans. Tom, a business development manager, revealed: "One week they would say he looks good but, by the weekends, we were just preparing for the worst. The waiting was horrible." Faith admitted she "managed to relax a little more" after reaching the 28-week mark and experienced "such a sense of relief", as she was informed the survival chances increased if they got past that point. Their baby boy was nearly delivered at 30 weeks due to a band wrapping around his feet. Tom, 30, said: "The band was getting close to his face, but he managed to untangle himself in the time it took for our doctors to consult another doctor. Luckily for us, he was an active baby." Faith was induced at 37 weeks, on 11 April 2025, and baby Ezra was safely born. "It was gorgeous, I loved it – he had jaundice and needed some incubation treatment, but other than that he was brilliant," the mum described. Tom added: "We're just so relieved that he's OK and he was born happy and healthy...he could have had it so much worse, and he's not going to struggle in life, he'll find his own little way. "His arm could make him an easy target when he is older, but by then he might have some kind of bionic arm that all the other kids are fascinated with! We don't want his arm to stop him from doing anything or achieving anything, and I'm sure it won't." Now, Faith and Tom take Ezra for a check-up every three months to monitor his progress. "He gets X-rays, and they check his back muscles because he's got two loose bones near his elbow," Faith clarified. "Everything has been fine so far – we keep an eye on him to see if there is an infection where his fingers would be." Ezra is also on the list for prosthetics, and he has weekly swimming lessons, with Faith saying "nothing can stop him". In September 2025, Tom completed the Great North Run to raise awareness about their son's condition and raised over £3,500 for Tommy's, the UK's leading charity for pregnancy research . He said: "We wanted to raise money and awareness about Tommy's and the condition, really. "We also wanted to shout out another charity called LimbBo – they do pop-ups around the country for children and parents... and it'd be nice to support them in the future." Looking ahead, Faith and Tom aren't concerned about Ezra starting nursery, as other children are "innocent at that age". However, they do have some worries about secondary school. Faith said: "Kids can be horrible, and we won't be there to protect him. I just hope we can teach him well enough to stand up for himself, and I think everyone worries about bullying anyway. By then, I think he could even be the cool one with a robot arm!". Reflecting on her experiences, Faith said: "It hasn't put me off having more children at all – I think if we have more kids, it might make me realise how hard this pregnancy was." You can visit Tom's fundraiser page here: www. justgiving.com/page/thomas-noble-1.
