An East Kilbride schoolboy who needs a 'miracle' to survive is set to undergo 'life-changing' surgery in Barcelona.
Last year we reported on the story of nine-year-old Mikey, who suffers from a rare condition known as Chiari Malformation, where the brain herniates out of the skull and pushes down onto the spinal canal.
As a consequence, Mikey suffers from intense headaches and has been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, meaning his breathing stops and starts while he's sleeping.
Upon hearing about a specialist centre for the condition in Barcelona, mum Donna launched the 'miracle for Mikey' fundraiser, with an ambitious target of £22,000 to get Mikey life-changing surgery at Chiari Institute in the Catalan capital.
And, thanks in part to a Glasgow Rocks fundraising night which took place on Friday, Donna confirmed to Glasgow Live the five-figure sum has been raised, with the hope Mikey will be flying out to Barcelona as soon as next month.
The 'overwhelmed' mum, 36, said: "Once everything has cleared, that’s us now hit target.
"Altogether [from the fundraising night] it was £5,000, including an anonymous donation of £3,000 - no idea who that is, where it’s come from.
"I’m in total shock. I really did not expect to meet target."
Mikey was first diagnosed with the condition after suffering an accident at school, which doctors originally identified as a fractured skull.
However, after undergoing a CT scan, he was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation. Explaining the condition, and the importance of the surgery in Spain, Donna said: "He had an accident when he was in school, when he was in Primary 1. The doctors thought he had a basilar skull fracture. They wanted to give him a CT scan and that’s when it was identified.
"Chiari Malformation is when your brain comes out of the skull, and it’s pressing on to your brain stems.
"When he was diagnosed, he started having migraines, leg pains, tiredness. At that point, doctors thought it could have been related to concussion from the accident.
"Things settled down, but he was diagnosed with sleep apnoea (when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep) about two years ago. Within the last year, his symptoms have really started to become more frequent to the point he’s getting really tired a lot easier, he’s got pain in his body, the sleep apnoea is getting worse, he’s started to become symptomatic with the headaches.
"With Chiari, one of the main symptoms is when you cough, you get a headache and it’s a very, very intense pain in the head and he’s started to exhibit that.
"Because he has become symptomatic, that’s when the neurosurgeons would step in and say ‘we want to operate’.
"Because it’s a preventative surgery, the sooner the better, to try and halt the condition from worsening. We’ve said it will be ‘life-changing’ for him, because it will give him back how he was before."
And although Donna admits she has been on an emotional rollercoaster over the past few months, she says her 'happy' boy has continued smiling:
"Over the weekend I’ve just been a bit of an emotional wreck. I think the adrenaline is pushing you on when you fundraise. I think it is starting to hit me more.
“I don’t think it’s really hit him to be honest. I don’t think he fully understands at that stage. He is aware and he asks questions, like ‘it’s only 45 minutes I’ll be having the operation isn’t it?’. He’s more excited about being able to take his Playstation over with him!
"I don’t know how it will hit him when he does realise what is happening. So far he’s been quite positive and taking it in his stride."
And Donna was keen to emphasise her gratitude for all those who have come forward to make the 'miracle' happen.
She added: "We’re extremely overwhelmed with the support. We really did not expect it to be this vast. To all the friends and family who have been supportive from the start, strangers that are donating, an anonymous donation of £3,000 - I can’t thank them enough.
"Glasgow Rocks obviously played a massive part from the start, the football team as well. Other football teams in East Kilbride got involved too. Everyone just really came together."
Have you downloaded the new and improved Glasgow Live app? Get all the latest news and events at the touch of a button on Android and Apple .
