Brave Luke beats the odds to celebrate a family Christmas Day

● Youngster with rare brain tumour is doing well after treatment in Mexico

A terminally-ill youngster who was given months to live has beat the odds to celebrate Christmas Day with his family.

Luke Stewart was diagnosed with an aggressive rare brain tumour known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Giloma (DIPG) last January.

Hisheartbrokenparentsjennifer and Mark, from Tranent, East Lothian, set up a Justgiving page Help Luke which has so far raised an incredible £182k, money which has been used to give their son groundbreaking treatment in Mexico.

Proud mum Jennifer said it was “indescribable” having Luke here for Christmas as she didn’t think the youngster would see his eighth birthday which he celebrated on 21st December.

Luke spent Christmas Day with his family including his two brothers Lewis aged five and two-year-old Lochlin, and friends who have all been “desperate” to see him after he returned from his latest trip to Mexico last week, having undergone his tenth round of treatment.

His parents got him Hibs, Chelsea and Arsenal strips for his birthday as well as football trainers.

Jennifer will return to Mexico with her son in six weeks and is delighted that Luke is now a “completely different boy” from the child who was at death’s door just a few months ago.

She said: “I don’t know how to put it into words, it’s indescribable having him here when we didn’t think he would be here at all. We didn’t think he would see his eighth birthday.

“When we first found out all I could think about was ‘he’s not even going to make eight years old’ and now nearly a year down the line he’s had his birthday and he’s doing really well. “It’s just amazing. “Everybody’s desperate to see him, we had all the family round at ours for Christmas Day about 14 of us in total.”

“He got a mobile phone for his birthday which I was dead against until he was about 12 but when he was diagnosed and he asked for it - I was thinking I don’t even know if you’re going to make 12.

“So why wait? He’s a very sensible little boy and he’s not going to misuse it”

Luke has now had ten Intraarterial chemotherapy treatments, four immunotherapy, 50 hyperbaric oxygen treatments and takes regular daily medication to cut his tumour off and stop it growing.

He was given between just six and nine months to live by doctors in Scotland and told that the NHS could only provide him with radiotherapy to provide him with a semblance of quality of life.

According to The Brain Tumour Charity only around 10 per cent of children with DIPG survive longer than two years after diagnosis.

However, Jennifer said that Luke’s treatment is paying great dividends with a No Evidence of Disease (NED) verdict edging ever closer.

0 Luke Stewart has had treatment in Mexico after his parents raised £182,000