'Boy with No Brain' Defies Expectations

Noah Wall is 4 years old. His short life in Cumbria, England, has been made up of a series of overcoming obstacles and proving the experts wrong.

It started when his mother Shelly Wall was just three months pregnant with Noah. Doctors informed her and her husband Rob that their child was severely deformed; so much so, that they recommended an abortion.

Watch the promo for the documentary, "The Boy With No Brain."

"We were offered termination five times," Rob Wall said in the documentary, "The Boy With No Brain."

"It was never an option for us. To me, we wanted to give Noah that chance of life," he said.

Doctors diagnosed the unborn child with spina bifida, chromosome abnormalities, and hydrocephalus, according to Christian News. They told Rob and Shelly their child would probably die at birth or shortly thereafter.

They were wrong.

"The first thing we heard when he was born was him taking a breath and then crying, which was unbelievable," Shelly recalled.

Noah is now going to school.

"I was planning his funeral while I was pregnant," Shelley told The Telegraph. "I could never have imagined this incredible day would come."

Doctors said Noah would only have use of 2 percent of his brain and wouldn't have much, if any, quality of life.

They were wrong. Noah now has 80 percent use of his brain, which means it's almost fully functional. He is even entering a mainstream school, not one for special-needs children.

"Noah is really excited. He's got his pencils, his books, his reading bag and lunch bag," Shelly said.

The medical experts who continually predicted the worst for Noah are speechless.

"Every time we see the doctors, they just shake their head. They're just amazed at what he can do," she said.

"We've had three years not knowing how long he's going to live, so to hear his brain's almost back to normal is beyond belief," Shelly says in the documentary. "Rob and I broke down when we heard the news. It was like a dream. I've never known anything like it. Even the consultants were in tears."

Noah's remarkable progress is not limited to his mental capacity. Noah's parents were told their son would be physically disabled. Although he was born paralyzed from the waist down, back surgery and other interventions have allowed him to use leg braces for mobility.

"He's even got his PE kit, and says he wants to be able to play football one day," Shelly said. "Noah will show us exactly what he's capable of and just what he wants to do in life."