A six-year-old Nottinghamshire boy diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year enjoyed a 'once in a lifetime' trip to Lapland - and his parents say they hope he will now make a full recovery.
Jake Barksby, who had an operation in June to remove a 5cm tumour and one of his testicles, rang a bell in hospital to signal the end of a 22-week course of chemotherapy on Tuesday (December 3).
His family hope he will make a full recovery and they enjoyed a 'magical' day trip to Lapland on Saturday (December 7) organised by the When You Wish Upon a Star charity. They flew from East Midlands Airport at 5am and landed back just after 10pm.
Jake's mother Nicola, 35, of Hucknall, said: "When we landed in Lapland we headed to the Magical Forest first where we did reindeer riding, so we were sat in sleighs and pulled by the reindeer.
"We also did rides in sleighs pulled around by the husky dogs.
"There were snowmobiles for us to ride around on and football pitches in the snow.
"There was an open area with open fires where we toasted marshmallows and then they set off fireworks for us because over in Lapland they only have two hours of daylight a day so it gets dark very early."
About 100 people are thought to have gone on the trip including Jake, his mum, dad Adam, 35, and sister Hollie, 11.
They also went to a local hotel and enjoyed a meal and the chance to meet Santa Clause.
Mrs Barksby said: "It was just absolutely amazing, lots of snow, lots of fun had, lots of adventures, lots of memories made.
"It was absolutely brilliant. It was a long day but worthwhile."
She said the activities were "magical, breathtaking and something not everybody gets to do", adding the trip was "a once in a lifetime thing".
And she said Jake "absolutely loved" the experience.
"He just loved sitting in the snow, playing in the snow. His favourite was the husky rides, he loved riding with the husky dogs.
"(It was) just lovely watching him run around, playing again."
Mrs Barksby said her son was due to have an MRI scan next month, adding: "He should, hopefully, make a full recovery."
And the family are now looking forward to Christmas.
Mrs Barksby said: "We're just looking forward to a nice few quiet weeks over Christmas because we're not having to go to the hospital for chemotherapy anymore.
"It's quite nice that we can just chill out and enjoy time at home."
Jake was diagnosed earlier this year after his mum noticed one of his testicles was larger than the other.
The family were devastated when they were told he had cancer.
"You don't expect it," said Mrs Barksby.
"Testicular cancer, you hear of it more in the slightly older generation.
"So for it to be found in our six-year-old son was completely devastating. It was a big shock to everybody.
"They were quite keen to get the tumour taken away which is the first thing they did.
"Then he went onto a course of chemotherapy for 22 weeks.
"It was a very long time. However, he had his last chemotherapy on Tuesday just gone (December 3).
"He rang the bell to say that he'd completed his chemotherapy."
Speaking ahead of the Lapland trip, Karen Martt, general manager at When You Wish Upon a Star, said: "We’re really excited about our upcoming Lapland trip.
"Giving children respite from the usual schedule of hospital appointments and treatment allows them to truly enjoy the festive period and make magical memories with their loved ones."
She added: "Both he and his family deserve a day of fun and we hope to give them just that when we fly out to Lapland.”
