Brave Bobby enjoys early Christmas celebrations

It may still be a month until Christmas Day, but the toddler’s family held their own festive celebration for Bobby on Saturday.

The 18-month-old has a heart condition and is likely to be in hospital on Christmas Day, but they did not want him to miss out.

Mum Emma Doherty said: “He had a perfect day. It went really well. It was lovely seeing his little face light up.”

Bobby opened his presents with Emma and dad John Baldwin in front of the Christmas tree at their home on Gorman Walk, Worsley Mesnes, on Saturday morning.

They included a remote-control Thomas The Tank Engine train and a dog from The Secret Life Of Pets film.

They then went to Emma’s parents’ house for Christmas dinner, with the whole family pulling crackers and tucking into turkey.

After opening more presents, they went to John’s parents’ house for a buffet and, of course, more presents for little Bobby.

Emma, 29, said: “It was lovely for the day to be about him. He doesn’t go to many birthday parties and he can’t go swimming or to play centres, so it was a good day for him.”

The family’s Christmas Day was supported via an online fund-raising appeal, which was set up by a friend of Emma’s and raised more than £300.

Now that the family has celebrated Christmas, they can look ahead to Bobby’s upcoming stay at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

Bobby has three holes in his heart and was born with major aortopulmonary collateral arteries, which means blood cannot pump round his body because he has no pulmonary arteries.

He will go into hospital on December 9 for an operation to try to widen the narrowing on the left-hand side of his heart.

But if it does not work, Bobby will have open heart surgery for the third time in his short life, probably just before Christmas.