SMILING and laughing with her little boy as he plays in the garden catching bubbles, Hampshire mum Charlotte Swithenbank couldn’t be happier.

It is a moment of bliss that all parents want to enjoy with their child – but one that not so long ago Charlotte feared she and partner James may not get to see.

Sixteen months ago their lives were turned upside down when Alfie – then just eight months old – started being sick and was taken to Southampton General Hospital where doctors initially feared the youngster had meningitis.

Nothing prepared the couple, who live in Romsey, for the devastating news that their baby boy was, in fact, suffering from a life-threatening cancerous brain tumour and he would need surgery immediately.

The gruelling journey has been far from plain sailing – and it’s far from over – but now the youngster and his family are trying to enjoy life like any other family in between medical appointments to keep a close eye on Alfie and support his development, which has been boosted now Alfie can take a few steps with the aid of his new walker with wheels.

This weekend Alfie will be star of the show as he and his mum are the VIPs starting Race for Life in Southampton – and they are calling on people to join their Pink Army and help kick cancer into touch.

Alfie fell ill the day after celebrating his big brother Harry’s third birthday as he sat in his high chair playing with a balloon and laughing like any other child his age. He was repeatedly sick, had his head to one side and was very lethargic and worried Charlotte had taken him to the doctors six times before he was referred to hospital.

“We spent eight hours there and then were told we could come home as he had a vomiting bug but 24 hours later we were back in after his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he was sent for a CT scan amid fears he had meningitis.

“I remember the doctors drawing the curtains around where James and I sat, just outside the CT scanner and that gut feeling that this wasn’t good.

“They told us he had a life threatening, very aggressive brain tumour and he would need an operation straight away.

“I felt numb. Sick. I couldn’t comprehend what was happening, how we had gone from normal life to this. It was like being transported into someone else’s nightmare but there was no choice but to cope as we thought about what may lie ahead.”

Charlotte added: “I was worried, wondering what the future held. Reality didn’t really kick in during those early days – the fact he had cancer and at the level it was.”

Alfie underwent surgery that night to drain the fluid and relieve the pressure on his brain.

Charlotte continued: “The following day he had an MRI scan and that was when neurosurgeons told us that Alfie had a Grade 4 tumour – the worst type he could have – and it was sitting very close to his spinal cord and brain stem.

“We had a really hard 24 hours sat by his bedside crying for every minute of the day.

“All of our family arrived and it felt like they were having to say their last goodbyes to Alfie because nobody knew if he would survive the surgery - it was so dangerous.

“I couldn’t help but think about Harry and how he may never see his little brother again, it was heart-breaking. Looking back now, it is just so emotional to think about it.”

Alfie was taken to theatre where he remained for 13 hours. At 10.30pm that night surgeons returned Alfie to the ward and told his mum and dad the good news – they had removed the tumour. But then followed an anxious wait for Alfie to come round amid fears he could be paralysed or blinded as a result.

“Considering what we had been facing earlier that day we would have taken anything at that moment – we just felt euphoric that they had managed to remove the tumour.

“Naively in our heads we expected him to wake up and be the same little baby boy who had been playing so happily just days earlier. We wanted nothing more than for him to open his eyes and be the Alfie we knew and loved but it took a long time to bring him round and it wasn’t like that at all.

“When he opened his eyes he was completely different. We couldn’t be sure he knew who we were.

“He had lost so much weight so quickly, his eyes were completely crossed and he didn’t move at all. He was unable to cough, gag or swallow anymore and all we could do was watch as the intensive care team constantly administer oxygen to him to help clear his airway. We talked to him and sang him familiar songs but the most response you would get was a squeeze of your finger – it was devastating.”

Between them, Charlotte and James spent 24 hours a day by Alfie’s bedside in the five-and-a-half months that followed in hospital, living in the Ronald McDonald house.

On his first birthday in May last year, Alfie was allowed home for the first time in months for just two hours.

“It felt strange but amazing as parents to bring your child home even if it was only for a short time. You become institutionalised fairly quickly when you are in a hospital for a period of time,” added Charlotte.

Alfie remained on 56-day cycles of chemotherapy, making occasional returns to hospital when he became poorly but life gradually started to settle down as James returned to work and Harry, who is now four-and-a-half, started at pre-school.

But once again their world came crashing down in October last year when they were told the shattering news that Alfie’s tumour had returned – and they should consider palliative care.

Charlotte said: “That bubble that we were living in, having chemotherapy and believing that Alfie was doing well, had suddenly burst. Now they were talking about palliative care, about us taking Alfie home and on a family holiday and making him comfortable and enjoying our time as a family.

“We had a very difficult two weeks not knowing what his prospects were until the neurosurgeon told us the news we had longed for – they would operate again and were confident they could get it out.”

Charlotte described how Alfie made a miraculous recovery, amazing medics treating him, and waking up as the same little boy once again. Following an MRI scan, a panel of experts discussed Alfie’s case and found him suitable for proton beam therapy and just days before Christmas the family left for the US.

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, they spent nine weeks there as Alfie faced 30 general anaesthetics during his treatment – losing his hair and costing him his hearing in one ear.

To their elation, a further MRI scan showed up clear.

Charlotte continued: “As a mum I just feel really lucky which may seem like an odd thing to say – but despite everything we have been through we have come out the other side and now we are really enjoying life and normality as a family once again.

“Last year that really didn’t feel like it was on the cards so I feel we are blessed that Alfie has been given this chance and he is doing well.

“He’s this strong little man who is showing us he will take on whatever is thrown at him and we couldn’t be prouder.”