A mum said she knew something was not right with her son when his face went "crooked".
Lyndsey Rowe first became concerned when she saw that her son's face was "crooked" on one side. Mason, now aged 16 months, was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital by his dad Robert, while Lyndsey stayed at home with their eldest son Leo, six.
The family had been away on holiday at Haven Hafan y Môr Holiday Park in North Wales two days earlier. After returning home to Hunts Cross, parents Lyndsey and Robert, 31, noticed Mason wasn't moving his right arm or leg and his face had fallen to one side.
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Following an MRI scan, the family were told Mason had suffered a stroke as a result of abnormal blood vessels - called cavernomas - in his brain. Lyndsey and Mason's brother Leo had also previously suffered from seizures as a result of the condition which can sometimes run in families.
Lyndsey said: "I was in a complete panic. I was trying my hardest not to cry because Leo was with me.
"As soon as we found out, my mum was on a plane from Ireland straight away the next morning to be with our other little boy Leo, so I could go to the hospital."
Mason spent the following months in and out of hospital having MRI scans and CT scans before doctors were able to operate. In April, he suffered from seven seizures in one day and was prescribed epilepsy medication.
With one cavernoma being in a more dangerous place than the other, Lyndsey said: "It wasn't a case of if we had to have it removed, it was a case of when. Doctors referred to it as a ticking time bomb - if it didn't get removed it would bleed badly and it could have paralysed him, or it could have killed him."
Mason underwent surgery on April 18 which was successful in removing the first cavernoma. The 16-month-old is set to undergo a second operation on May 18.
Lyndsey now wants to thank the staff at Alder Hey Children's Hospital for helping to save Mason's life. The family will be taking part in a charity walk at Knowsley Safari Park on May 14, with all money raised via a fundraising page going to Alder Hey.
Lynsey said: "He's such an incredible baby. He was giggling and smiling ever since the surgery.
"The day after his operation he was sat up eating Jaffa Cakes as if nothing had happened. We've brought him home and he's back crawling again, pulling himself up.
"When we've been [at Alder Hey] all the nurses, all the staff, are incredible. They make you feel so at home and comforted.
"There's a musician that goes around the wards with a guitar and sings to the kids.
"There's a dog that goes to visit them - you can just see how much of a difference it makes to those children, how much more comforted they feel. The neurosurgeons are unbelievable."
To visit the family's fundraising page for Alder Hey click here.
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