Christmas at home for brave little Gaurav

But this Christmas, the young boy from Tipton is back home with his family, providing them with an extra special present.

After his successful blood transfusion, Gaurav has recovered well according to doctors, and will be able to open his presents this year with parents Gurprit and Sunny.

He will be joined by sister Kiran, aged 5.

It is in contrast to last Christmas, when he spent the day in an isolation room at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Gaurav needed the operation to pass donated stem cells into his body to prevent him developing an aggressive form of childhood leukaemia.

He had been diagnosed with the rare blood condition Monosomy 7 Syndrome.

Only one parent was allowed to visit him in the room at a time, but this year the youngster will be with his parents, both aged 32, and sister at home as he continues to make good progress following the operation.

His father said: "As a family, we are just looking forward to having a normal Christmas at home. The best way to describe it is sometimes you can take a normal Christmas for granted.

"Last year, it was spent in hospital and my daughter could not see him. This year, just having a normal family Christmas, we will appreciate it that much more. It is going to be fantastic."

He said Gaurav was learning how to walk again and has started his nursery schooling at the Orchard in Oldbury.

His blood test results were also fine and doctors were happy with his progress.

Despite his recovery, he is still not tolerating food and is fed fluids through a tube attached to his nose.

However, Mr Bains is confident his tolerance levels will improve over time.

"He is doing really well now. He is getting a lot stronger and is getting back to his old self," he said.

The family had to endure a torturous ordeal in the months leading up to Christmas 2013 as the months counted down to find a bone marrow donor with a 100 per cent match.

The young lad had always been ill after being born premature and had visited hospital twice to receive treatment for a series of chest infections.

Although his condition improved during 2012, he continued to suffer spikes in temperature up until last year when he had regular bouts of sickness, which resulted in him being eventually referred to the respiratory and haemotology department at the children's hospital.

In the summer last year, his family was told his best chance of a healthy life would be if a donor being found before Christmas

Had a match not been found, Gaurav's condition meant he would have been likely to develop childhood leukaemia, and he would not have survived.

But thanks to a huge campaign and the determination of his family, thousands of people signed up to the donation register from around the country and the world, resulting in the operation.

An appeal was launched on Facebook entitled Gaurav Bains' Journey- Blood Donor Appeal to raise awareness of the youngster's condition and encourage more people to join the bone marrow register.

In October, his father received the Anthony Nolan Supporters Black and Ethnic Minority Award for helping to increase the number of black and Asian people on the stem cell register.

Mr Bains said when Gaurav was first discharged from hospital he was taking eight different types of medication, but that number had since been reduced to three different medications.

He added his son was still on anti-viral drugs to protect his immune system and help him to get back to normal.

As a special thank you to the children's hospital, the family are going to drop off sweets and cakes for the children who will be spending their Christmas in hospital.

Mr Bains added: "Our Christmas wish would be for anyone who has not joined the Anthony Nolan register to do so. Our wish is for anyone who has not joined to give the biggest gift anyone can give. It is about helping other children during their time of need."