Coronation Street aired difficult scenes on Monday night, as the truth about young Oliver Battersby's health was confirmed.
The three-year-old child of Leanne Battersby and Steve McDonald has been suffering from seizures over the past few weeks, with doctors suspecting he may have epilepsy.
But Oliver deteriorated recently, and Monday's episode saw him remain unconscious in intensive care after another serious seizure.
The doctors were struggling to stop him from fitting at first, and confirmed he would be having a full brain MRI scan that day as they ran more tests.
Viewers of the ITV soap recently learned the youngster would be diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, a life limiting illness for which there is currently no cure.
Coronation Street ’s research team worked closely with The Lily Foundation, a charity that supports families and funds research into mitochondrial disease, to ensure the storyline closely reflects the experiences of families with children with mitochondrial disorders.
On Monday night, Leanne and Steve learned the devastating news that their son may have the condition.
After his tests came back, Dr Ward informed them that changes had been detected in part of Oliver's brain, and that they now wanted to run genetic tests, looking for any potential genetic mutations in his blood.
As the family gathered at the hospital and awaited news, Leanne and Steve were called into the doctor's office to discuss the result.
It's then that they were told things looked "concerning" and much more "serious" than previously believed.
Dr Ward confirmed it was likely Oliver has an underlying genetic disease, with mitochondrial disease being heavily looked into.
She warned the parents not to look it up on the Internet due to "misinformation", but promised to provide answers once more was known.
While the doctor didn't confirm it was definitely the disease that Oliver had, fans know this to be the case.
As Leanne and Steve reeled from their latest updates, viewers took to Twitter heartbroken for the family.
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm on ITV.
