A family is looking forward to a perfect Christmas after their little boy nearly died after falling ill on Boxing Day last year.
Oliver Alderson, eight, began complaining to mum Eva Hanlon, 26, of feeling poorly on December 26, 2021.
Despite the best efforts of medics at Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), Newcastle, doctors didn't think he'd survive to see another Christmas with his doting family. He was quickly diagnosed with two genetic conditions, one of them life-threatening, and lost his ability to walk, talk and even smile.
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Just months later the young boy was diagnosed with a third rare life-threatening disorder which, when it strikes, can result in a fever and rash lasting weeks.
But after a ten-month long road to recovery, including a 48-hour coma, Oliver has returned to school and is excitedly writing his list for Santa.
Eva, a housekeeper in a care home, from Darlington, said: "It was just so much for us all to take in.
''We'd had a magical Christmas day and then he went downhill so fast. We had meetings everyday with the doctors because they didn't think he'd survive," she said.
''This Christmas is definitely going to be a special one. We'll be having all the family round. A lot of Oliver's recovery was down to his stubbornness, he was so determined to do it."
After discovering he had a high temperature on Boxing Day 2021, Eva and partner Harry Alderson, 28, a windscreen technician, took Oliver to Darlington Memorial hospital to get checked out that evening. They were told by doctors their son had a viral infection and were sent home.
But by New Year's Day 2022, Oliver was taken ill at his grandma's house, also in Darlington. He had blue lips, a lack of control in his left hand and tremors.
Rushing back to hospital, Oliver underwent both an MRI and a CT scan, as doctors suspected a bleed on the brain, but both came back clear.
"The doctors didn't seem worried initially," Eva said. "His temperature stayed really high, and so they kept him in, and said he'd need to stay overnight. I went home at around 8pm, and Harry stayed with Oliver as he's such a daddy's boy.
"In the early hours of the morning on New Year's Day Harry rang me and said the doctors thought he was having a bleed on the brain, and Oliver was rushed for a brain scan."
When Oliver struggled to stay conscious the worried doctors rushed him for more scans. Dad Harry, said: "He started getting worse and kept passing out.
''The doctors said they needed to transfer him another hospital. He had been sleeping all day so was very weak and out of it. They said to me they were going to put him to sleep for the transport.
"We thought he'd be woken up when he got to Newcastle, but when we got there doctors said he was too poorly, and there was a risk to life. We'd only just had a lovely Christmas and then this; it was too much to take in."
After the family were blue-lighted to the RVI, Oliver stayed in intensive care for six weeks. Doctors did not think he would survive as they battled to work out what was wrong with him. After trying lots of different treatments and tests, the schoolboy was finally diagnosed with a life-threatening genetic disorder - carnitine deficiency.
Carnitine deficiency, is a condition where nutrients cannot reach the body's cells, which can cause; muscle weakness, low blood sugar, fatigue, vomiting, abdominal pain, enlarged liver and episodes of brain function abnormalities.
Oliver's worried parents had to have daily meetings with doctors, who weren't sure if Oliver was going to survive. Eva said: "On the 14th of January Oliver had to be put into a coma for two days as his body was not responding to the medication he was on. After that, doctors slowly weaned him off his breathing tube, but we didn't know what state he'd be in when he woke back up."
On January 20, Oliver woke up and began what would turn out to be a miracle recovery.
"For the first week he wasn't moving," Eva said. "Then his right hand started to twitch slightly. We did movements with him, massaging his legs and slowly he started improving. We used to joke because he'd do something good but when the doctors weren't there."
Oliver did physio everyday whilst in intensive care, as well as speech therapy. "Me and Harry went in one day, and Oliver began whispering," Eva said. "I wrote the word 'mam' on my phone and showed him it and he said 'mam' back. That's when we thought, oh my god, he's still there."
In February, during another regular meeting with doctors, Eva and Harry were told Oliver also had a second genetic disorder called Klinefelter syndrome - where boys and men are born with an extra X chromosome.
It was discovered after tests were run on both Eva and Harry's blood.
"It means he can be prone to anxiety and depression, trouble with social skills, likelihood of having ADHD, which Oliver has a diagnosis for now," Eva said.
"He's also likely to be taller than average and have broader hips and might not be able to have children naturally."
Finally, after almost five long months in hospital, Oliver returned home on April 25.
"That was the best day of our lives," Eva said. "We felt guilty about his sister Alice too, because we had to leave her at her grandparents quite a lot while Oliver was in hospital."
The family's lives have changed dramatically, and Oliver is still very weak, sometimes using his wheelchair to get around, or holding onto furniture. Recently, on October 7, the family received a further diagnosis after genetic testing revealed Oliver also had another life-threatening disorder called TRAPS.
TRAPS - tumour necrosis factor receptor associated periodic syndrome - is a rare disorder which can result in recurrent fever, abdominal, chest and muscle pain, red and swollen eyes, and rashes lasting for more than a week.
"It's like an inflammation gene," Eva said. "Only 1,000 people worldwide have it. The nurse who gave us the diagnosis said she didn't think it had anything to do with what happened with Oliver originally, but the genetic testing flagged it up."
Despite the hurdles he has faced, Oliver is a determined little boy, something his mum and dad credit his recovery to.
"We thought first of all he'd be coming home in July or August, so for him to go home in April was a shock," Harry said. "A lot of his recovery was due to his stubbornness."
Eva added: "He'd sneak around the hospital room even when he wasn't supposed to be walking yet, he was so determined to do it."
The pair are looking to the future with Oliver with a sense of hope.
"We feel really positive about everything," Harry said. "We still see improvements in Oliver every week, and he's not having as many seizures either.''
Remaining on medication for his carnitine deficiency for the rest of his life, Oliver's body would be in danger of shutting down without it.
"We have to make sure he eats on time too," Eva said. "He has to have Lucozade throughout the day too for his energy. We have good and bad days but we feel really lucky."
Oliver even returned to Harrogate Hill Primary School, in Darlington, on July 4 this year. The mum-of-two said: ''He's back at school now with his friends, he's so happy. 'He does have to use a wheelchair from time to time but he's doing amazing.
''We're planning a surprise trip for the kids which we're going to reveal on Christmas day, we can't wait to see their faces. It'll just be magical to have him home and be able to enjoy the relaxing, opening presents and eating lots of nice food together.
"On New Year's Eve, the day Oliver fell poorly last year, we're going to have a party with all the family, which will be lovely. It will be a huge celebration of him being here."
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