Five-year-old Oscar's first Christmas at home 'a dream come true'

Oscar and his mum Megan were given a round of applause by hospital staff

A five-year-old boy who has spent most of his life on a ventilator has left hospital to spend his first Christmas at home.

Oscar Edgar has been a patient at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow since his birth in April 2015.

He is unable to eat or speak and was ventilated until he was four-and-a-half due to an undiagnosed neurological, muscular and respiratory condition.

Oscar left the hospital on Thursday to applause from staff.

His mother Megan, 23, said spending Christmas at home with her son, who recently learned to walk, will be "like a dream come true".

She said: "Everyone in that hospital loves Oscar and he loves all of them.

"It took us two hours to go round everyone and say goodbye."

Ms Edgar said she thought "the day would never come" to bring Oscar home.

She said: "Oscar's had the last rites on more than one occasion and the staff were there to support me every time.

"So now, to get him home a week before Christmas is like a dream come true."

Complex journey

She said she is looking forward to spending a first Christmas Eve with Oscar at home with his little brother Theo.

Ms Edgar said the hospital staff had become like family.

She said: "I was 17 when I had Oscar and I didn't even know what a disabled person was.

"On the difficult days they were there to offer not just care, but cuddles and always made sure I had eaten and drank enough."

Dr Phil Davies, consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine at the hospital, said Oscar's journey had been "long and complex".

He said: "It has not only been a delight to see him make medical progress and be able to breathe by himself, but also to see his cheeky personality develop."