Infant to spend Christmas at home after spending last year's in hospital

An infant will be at home for Christmas for the first time this year after spending last year's in hospital.

Aila Butler was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was just five months old, and spent the following months undergoing intense chemotherapy. During that time, she ended up living at Southampton Children's Hospital, with her mum and dad always by her side.

Her final round of cancer treatment was on Christmas Day itself, so the family spent their first Christmas together on a hospital ward. This year, however, the family will be back home for the festivities - and also celebrating one year of Aila being cancer-free.

Mum Roisin said: "I was really upset about having to spend her first Christmas in hospital. It’s just not what I planned; no mum wants to spend what should be wonderful memories with their child in hospital.

“We feel very lucky to be able to wake up this Christmas morning with our daughter in her own bed. Her dad and I have just bought her a toy kitchen and can’t wait for her to play with it as it was her favourite toy on the ward. We have so much planned for December already, including seeing the Christmas lights and lots of fun activities with her cousins and friends."

It's expected that roughly 100,000 children will spend Christmas Day in hospital this year - which is certainly not the day that parents would expect to share with their children. Fortunately, there are a number of charities that offer not just support, but help keep the spirit of Christmas alive.

One such charity is Starlight, which specialises in children’s play in healthcare. Chief executive Cathy Gilman said: "Children across the UK will spend the festive period in hospital, feeling scared and missing out on Christmas celebrations. At Starlight, we know that play has the power to reduce fear and relieve trauma, so we want to make sure children in hospital have the opportunity to play this Christmas."

"Starlight helped make it [last Christmas] such a magical day with all Aila's presents that we all had a lovely day to remember," Roisin added.