Potton United FC welcome brave young mascot to pitch after five months in hospital with life-threatening conditions

A manager at Potton United FC was bursting with pride when his son was a team mascot after five months in hospital battling life-threatening conditions.

Gary Jackson, 41, watched his 22-month-old son, Harry, walk onto the pitch on Saturday (March 19) accompanied by team captain James 'Snoop' Smith for the home match against Lutterworth Town.

The day was particularly poignant for brave Harry as he had spent nearly half a year fighting the effects of sepsis and malrotation - a condition which causes your stomach to twist - and this was his first big outing since coming home.

Gary said: "He got to go on the pitch and was running around, kicking the ball, and there were 25 children who jumped on him and played together.

"I think people were surprised with how well he looks. He's a happy baby, still charging around.

"A few of the committee members got emotional when they saw him.

"He's honestly just taken it all in his stride."

Last October, Harry was on holiday in Crete with his parents Gary, and Annie Cerveno, when he was taken ill and rushed to hospital.

There were "around 17 doctors" surrounding Harry, "two working on his head, two on his arms, two on his legs", all trying to establish what was wrong.

Gary said: "The night before, he'd been on the dance floor, chasing round this little French girl that he'd found, but by about 5am he'd lost all colour, his legs had gone blue and he was completely unresponsive.

"I try not to relive it too much... the Greek language is very abrupt so it comes across very panicky - they could see this child [Harry] was slipping away.

"I was in complete shock just staring at the door, thinking, my child is in intensive care."

A CT scan confirmed that Harry had malrotation, which meant that his digestive system hadn't developed properly and had caused his stomach to twist.

A blockage and a build-up of food had then brought on sepsis during the holiday, which left a fungal infection in the youngster's blood that didn't clear until February.

Fighting for his life in Heraklion Hospital, Harry was put into a coma until December, while doctors battled the sepsis and tried to repair his damaged organs.

Gary said: "Because of Covid, we were only allowed to visit Harry once per week and have two telephone conversations per day.

"We'd get up in the morning, go to the hospital and buy the nurses a coffee, hoping they could give us some information - a nod, a smile. And that was our life for weeks.

"We moved out of the hotel to an AirBnB near the hospital, because at the hotel we could see families on holiday and children running around. It was too upsetting."

At last, Harry was well enough to fly to England on December 17 and was immediately taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.

Here, he received treatment for the ongoing fungal infection, while his parents received training about the Hickman line and stoma bags that their son now has to use to eat and digest food.

In total, the brave lad has had seven major operations, and when he is a teenager, it is hoped that he can be given an intestines transplant; his large intestine is defunct while his small one had to be removed.

Gary said: "Before, Harry was the most happiest little boy, and now, to look at him, you wouldn't know anything was wrong with him.

"What does his future look like? He's going to get spoilt rotten! Yesterday we put on a little Christmas for him with his cousins and we're also planning a trip to Disneyland."

Brave Harry is taking everything in his stride, including wearing his Hickman line for 16 hours per day, from 6pm until 10am.

Meanwhile, to help with his speech and tongue movements, he is allowed to eat treats including Rice Crispies and Skips, as these disintegrate quickly.

Reflecting on the past few months, Gary said: "I think sometimes you do forget that there are an awful lot of people that love you and who might not be in your life every day, but when you need them they are there."

Gary would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated to a GoFundMe appeal last year, which raised £29,000 to help cover the costs of flying Harry to the UK.

He would also like to say a special thank you to Gareth Davies for setting it up, and to Mark Gearing for holding the initial press interviews.

Finally, he gave a special thanks to their hotel in Crete, which let family members including Harry's half siblings and their mother stay for free.

Gary is assistant manager of the First Team at Potton United FC, and lives in Eaton Socon.