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Joey Patterson was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in 2017 after mum Gemma saw her six-monthold was choking on his food.

Because he did not meet the NHS criteria to have a pioneering spinal surgery that would enable him to walk, his devoted parents launched a fundraising appeal to pay for a private operation.

In 2019 they hit the £50,000 target for a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) operation at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Surgeons cut the spinal nerves which had been sending abnormal messages to his legs.

Brave Joey, of Loughborough, Leics, then underwent months of physiotherapy to learn to walk. He now has the strength to take 100 steps on his own.

Mum-of-three Gemma, 38, a midwife, said: “He used to be in so much pain in his legs. He would wake up crying 15-20 times a night. 

He even took medication that alcoholics have to stop his spasms but none of it worked.

“He had a brain scan and doctors told us he had cerebral palsy. He had to have fluids instead of food. It was a bleak picture. We did research and found out he could have SDR but it wasn’t funded by the NHS.

“We just thought we had to try and raise the money to have it done. We were completely overwhelmed by the response.”

Electrician dad Anthony, 46, said: “He came round from the procedure, said he wanted a gingerbread man and he took a bit and chewed it. We were shocked.

“The surgeon was telling us to touch and bend his feet, something he could not do before. It was amazing.

“He slowly started making his first steps in December 2019. He stood for a couple of seconds. Then he took three steps. It was a Christmas miracle. There’s still a long way to go for him but he’s now a normal five-year-old boy.”

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