A mother found out from a regular check up that he son may not live past 10-years-old, and has helped him create a bucket list of the things he wants to do, including meeting "dolphins, sloths, elephants and monkeys."
Samuel Bethell, seven, from Colchester, Essex has four very serious heart conditions, after he was born with a hole in his heart and numerous defects and syndromes.
His parents Victoria, 33, and Ricky, 48, knew his life would be shorter than normal, but found out that he is "unlikely" to live past ten-years-old because of a passing comment from a doctor during a regular check up.
The check-up on September 22 came as a startling and painful shock for Victoria and Ricky.
"It was just a normal check-up," Victoria said. "The doctor started out saying he was doing really well, looked really good and he was really happy with him.
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"I told the doctor that when he was born, we were told he would need a heart transplant and he looked at me as if to say, okay, we will have to talk about this now.
"He said 'We will see what happens if he gets to ten' and I said 'What do you mean?'
"He said if he makes it to ten, they will test him, running tests, physical tests and exams. I said 'Are you telling me he might not make it to ten? He said it's likely he will not make it to ten."
Prior to that appointment, Victoria knew Samuel's life could be limited but had never been given an exact age.
"They said he could be here till five, fifteen, 50 or 100, they just didn't know," she said.
"I was really confused because he was doing really well. I don't think it sunk in until days later."
During Samuel's pregnancy his parents were told their son may not even survive birth - and if he did, he would unlikely survive the first 20 minutes.
Against all odds, Samuel defied the predictions and survived a series of complex operations which have helped him to live a relatively normal life.
At a check-up in September this year however, doctors identified a large amount of scarring and tissue damage on Samuel's heart and gave his parents the unimaginable news that he will unlikely make it to his tenth birthday.
To ensure that Samuel gets every opportunity he deserves and enjoys every moment he has, his family have set up a fundraiser to help Samuel achieve all his wishes.
When Victoria was told how poorly Samuel was during pregnancy, she remembers crying for days, trying to digest the news.
"I couldn't leave my bedroom for two days, Ricky was getting up with our daughter in the night and in the morning, taking care of her and I just sat in my bedroom and cried constantly," she said.
On April 23, Samuel was born weighing 6lb 14oz and survived both the birth and those first 20 minutes, although he was kept alive on medicine and machines in intensive care.
At six-days-old, he underwent his first operation of open-heart surgery. At four-months-old, Samuel had his second open-heart surgery, again with success against the odds.
Over the next few years, Samuel went through a number of other operations to help his heart and lungs, each time surpassing doctor's expectations.
On the recent shock, Victoria added: "I don't think he quite understands. He knows that he has got a heart problem and he knows he is a poorly little boy but when I tell him he's like, 'Yeah whatever, can I go and see my friends now?"
Victoria asked Samuel to make a list of wishes of things he desperately wants to do and see most.
On the list includes trips to Legoland, Chessington World of Adventures, Disney Land, Peppa Pig World and meeting an assorted collection of animals including dolphins, sloths, elephants, monkeys, meerkats, bears and giraffes.
He also wants to plan the ultimate Christmas party with Father Christmas, a DJ with "lots of flights", sweets, cake, party games and some "naughty, cheeky elves."
Victoria hopes that their fundraiser will help them to bring all of Samuel's wishes to life and help create lasting memories with his mum, dad and two sisters, Daisy, 11, and Betsy, six.
