Adam Quirk said his son Freddie “had such a short life but he touched so many people”.

A couple have paid tribute to their 18-month-old son who died unexpectedly. Freddie Quirk, from Netherton in Merseyside, was described by his dad Adam Quirk as a boy who “loved life” despite everything that was thrown at him.

Freddie died on Monday, February 23, after his mum Abbie Quirk found him unresponsive. Paying tribute, Adam, 28, told the Liverpool ECHO: ”He was just the definition of a cheeky little chappy. He loved life. He lit up the room with his smile and loved everyone.”

Freddie was born without an anus, a condition officially called imperforate anus. This is where some babies are born without any opening for excrement to leave the body. In people with the condition the rectum (the last part of the bowel) is closed off.

Freddie had to have surgery when he was one day old and later had a stoma bag fitted, but Adam says his son brushed off any difficulties he faced.

He said: “He was such a strong little boy, nothing fazed him. He was climbing everywhere, running everywhere. He was just a smart, happy baby.”

Adam said: “Abbie found him on her own. I was on my way to work at the time on the train. I’d only gone one stop and I ran back. I was told Freddie had passed away on my way back.

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“It’s been a shock for everybody because we weren’t expecting it. He was a bit unwell on the Sunday before he passed, but nothing out of the ordinary.

“He was vomiting a little bit, but he was still drinking. We didn’t try giving him too much food because we didn’t want him vomiting it straight back up. He was still playing with his toys and wanted to be around us, so it was nothing unusual.”

The family don’t know Freddie’s exact cause of death. Adam said: “We don’t know how he died yet. His body was only released from the coroner’s office yesterday (Tuesday, March 3). They’ve given us a timeframe of six to nine months for a bit of testing to be done.”

Throughout this time, Adam and Abbie have been supported by Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Now Lydia Pennington, one of Abbie’s close friends, is running the Mersey Tunnel 10K later this year to raise money for the hospital’s charity.

A JustGiving page has raised over £1,600 so far. Adam said: “Lydia is one of Abbie’s friends from university. They actually live in Blackpool.

“They already said they want to do the Mersey Tunnel run and asked us if they could do some fundraising. The original target was £150 and I think that was surpassed like the first half an hour.

Abbie, 29, added: “It got raised to £500 and I think that only took another hour maybe. It’s just really heartwarming.”

Adam said: “Alder Hey, we could never, ever sing their praises enough. We got transferred from the Women’s to Alder Hey on Freddie’s first day of life when he went in for surgery.

“The nurses and doctors are absolute godsends. They made sure to sit with us when we needed it, leave us alone when we needed it. We can’t even think about how hard it would’ve been anywhere else.

“Freddie had such a short life, but he touched so many people and he loved everybody he met so intensely. Everyone who met him loved him.

“He had his tantrums but he loved life and loved us, loved everyone, and we loved him. We’re so incredibly lucky that we live so close to Alder Hey and we’ve had that support.

“My brother’s fiancée had an amazing idea – on Freddie’s birthday every year, July 1, we’re going to be buying presents for him as normal, but we are donating them all to Alder Hey.

“They’ve done so much for us, it’s only right that we do something for them. We just can’t put into words how important Alder Hey has been to us.”

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