Appeal from family of Bolton's 'miracle' baby born three months early

Anthony Gleave and Emma Gant were expecting their son Toby to be born in January but he arrived unexpectedly on October 5, weighing less than 2 lbs, and was rushed from the Royal Bolton Hospital to a specialist unit at St Mary’s in Manchester.

The couple were told the outlook was bleak and that their baby could have just hours to live.

However, the battling youngster was able to pull through and has continued to fight for eight weeks after having a shunt implanted in his brain to combat a build-up of fluid.

“He’s a miracle,” Mr Gleave, 45, said.

“The people at St Mary’s told me I had an hour and a half to get to the hospital but he’s fought on and on all the way.”

After family and friends asked for an update on the youngster, his dad shared a video of the baby in hospital on his Facebook page and was shocked when more than 1,000 people commented, with messages of support coming from as far away as Singapore and the USA.

Now Toby is stable and has moved back to Bolton, but Mr Gleave — a self-employed building maintenance worker — has been unable to work while he spent time with his son and, to make matters worse, was last week diagnosed with type two diabetes and told he must rest at home.

Along with Miss Gant, 36, the couple have spent the last few weeks travelling between St Mary’s and their home in The Sheddings, Great Lever.

Faced with the prospect of not being able to give gifts to their other children, Amelia, five, and Scott, four, the family have turned to community website Go Fund Me for help.

“It’s all for the kids, Christmas isn’t for adults, it’s for our children who have been brilliant throughout this,” Mr Gleave said. “Our two kids are awesome, they never asked for anything but we don’t want them to have nothing under the tree.”

So far, the campaign has raised £205 for Toby’s family. To make a donation visit: www.gofundme.com/f/when-real-life-cancels-christmas.