A TODDLER whose parents feared they would lose him as he was rushed from hospital to hospital on Christmas Day is preparing for his first visit from Father Christmas.

Jacob Dodsworth has also heard his first Christmas carols following surgery after he was left profoundly deaf by one of the most dangerous forms of meningitis.

“He is doing so well, it is remarkable", said Jacob’s father, Tim. "He just loves doing all the things any other nearly two-year-old does, like playing with cars and terrorising his brother.”

"We have taken him on a night to look at Christmas lights and we are getting words like 'wow'. He has been to see Santa a couple of times and he really is starting to get excited.

"We are just going to try and make it a normal Christmas but it will be special as it's his first 'proper' Christmas."

A nightmare chain of events unfolded last Christmas Eve as Jacob, his parents and four-year-old brother, Alfie, were preparing to enjoy the festivities with family in Grewelthorpe, near Ripon, when he fell ill.

His mother, Jo, said: "It was that time of year when lots of bugs were going round, but we checked him over to see if he had a rash, which we knew was a sign of meningitis."

Doctors told his parents it was probably a low-level virus, but after waking up for water through the night and having a dry nappy, his mother, Jo, realised something was wrong.

As they drove him to hospital, Jacob suddenly turned grey and became unresponsive.

Jo said: "I thought we were going to lose him, his eyes were rolling in the back of his head, so we called an ambulance."

“It was very traumatic” said HGV driver Tim. “He was taken straight into resuscitation and they drilled into the bone in his leg to get some fluids into him to stabilise him. but they were still trying to work out what was wrong."

Fighting for his life, Jacob was transferred to the intensive care unit at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, one of the UK's four specialist paediatric NHS trusts.

Jo said: "He was surrounded by monitors and we waited for him to respond. It wasn't until Boxing Day that they took the ventilator out and Jacob was moved to the neuroscience ward, where he was diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis."

The virus, which causes swelling of the brain and spinal cord and leaves 22 per cent of survivors disabled, had also triggered a build-up of fluid on Jacob’s brain.

“I was so scared” said Tim. “I felt helpless, I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help my little baby boy. It wasn’t nice at all.”

Jo added: "The doctors weren't sure what the outcome would be and after Jacob had several seizures they gave him medicine that made his heart race. I had to go out the room."

Jacob was treated for two days on the intensive care unit, before spending four weeks recovering at the hospital.

When Jo and Tim took Jacob to the nearby park, it dawned on them they could be facing a new wave of challenges, as Jacob sat looking at the ducks, instead of giggling at them quacking, as usual.

Tim said: "It had felt like we were turning a corner, he was coming back to us, he was starting to smile, and then our world was shattered all over again when we found out he was profoundly deaf.”

In March, Jacob underwent a complex five-hour operation at the James Cook Memorial Hospital, Middlesbrough, to fit cochlear implants, and after several weeks his hearing began to return.

Jo, a nursing home care assistant, said: "I was hoovering at home when I first noticed him react to sound, it brought a tear to my eye."

Nine months on, Jacob is taking his first steps and going from strength to strength and it is hoped he will recover up to 85 per cent of his hearing.

"We want to make Christmas this year as special as possible for the boys", said Jo.

Jacob's family have raised £2,500 for The Children’s Hospital Charity, which raises money for The Children's Hospital in Sheffield, through a raffle, a cake stall at Thirsk Truck Show and holding an accessories party, and are working to raise awareness of the disease.

"Most people think you get a rash with meningitis", said Jo, "but that's not always the case and it can be the last thing to happen."

Jacob has become the face of the charity’s festive campaign, raising thousands to help children too poorly to go home over Christmas.

David Vernon-Edwards, the charity's director, said: “This Christmas will be truly special for Jacob and his family, but many children are simply too poorly to go home.

"We urgently need donations to make Christmas and the New Year period special for those children who stay in hospital.”

To donate, visit campaign.justgiving.com/charity/tchc/makechristmasbetter