A MUM has spoken of her grief after her ‘fun-loving’ teenage son lost his fight for life.

Diane Cummings says she will never be the same after the death of 17-year-old Josh Fox, who battled the rare blood disease aplastic anaemia for two years.

Sufferers of the condition do not produce enough new blood cells, leaving them fatigued and with a higher risk of infection and uncontrolled bleeding.

Ms Cummings, from Tonge Moor, described Josh as a ‘pleasant and cheerful’ youngster who had a passion for motorbikes and off-roading.

She said: “It’s going to be horrible without him. There’s not going to be a day I don’t think about him. I will be lost without him – it was only me and him that lived here.

“He was fun-loving and happy, and he looked after me. If he went out he would text me and ask if I was okay, and what I was up to.”

Ms Cummings, aged 47, said the loss of her son had not truly sunken in. She said: “It doesn’t feel real he isn’t here, it feels like he is still in his bedroom. I left his telly on, and it has been on the same channel for weeks.”

Former St Catherine’s Academy pupil Josh first became ill at the beginning of last year.

At first doctors thought he had leukaemia due to symptoms such as bleeding gums, a rash and bruising.

He was rushed to The Christie, in Manchester, where he had blood and platelet transfusions, and later diagnosed with aplastic anaemia.

Josh visited The Christie for treatment three times a week following his diagnosis, where he was well loved by those looking after him.

Ms Cummings said: “He touched a lot of hearts with the nurses on the wards as well as on the day unit. A lot of the nurses have said they are going to try to come to the funeral, because they loved him, they all thought he was a great lad.”

Doctors wanted to put Josh forward for a bone marrow transplant.

But he turned that option down after being told he would first need a course of chemotherapy or radiotherapy that would make him feel very unwell.

Instead Josh was given a cocktail of tablets to take every day instead, but found they made him very sick and he found it difficult to stick to the regime.

The youngster, who had two sisters, Danielle and Olivia, developed a swollen spleen and had fluid on the abdomen as a result.

Ms Cummings said Josh battled hard against the disease right until the end, and perhaps hadn’t realised how ill he was until it was too late.

She said: “He was a fighter, he surprised doctors by going as long as he did, but he would say to me ‘mum, I don’t want to die.”

Josh, who lost his father, Paul, while still a young child, died at home on Saturday August 12.

He also leaves behind his grandfather Maurice Cummings.

His funeral will be held at Overdale Crematorium west chapel on Thursday, August 24 at 3pm.

Ms Cumming, who gave up work to become Josh’s full time carer, is struggling to pay the £3,500 costs for Josh’s send off.

Her cousin, Tracey Tyler, has set up a fundraising page for donations towards the funeral to ease the burden.

Ms Cummings said: “It would be a big weight off my mind if we could raise that money. I’ve not been able to sleep, it’s been a big worry and I have been on anti-depressants because of everything I’ve been through.”

To donate visit www.gofundme.com/17-year-old-joshs-funeral-costs