A heartbroken Scots mum is mourning the death of her son who died in his sleep after suffering an epileptic seizure. Aiden Reid, from Peterhead, passed away on April 1 having previously suffered fits.
Last year the 12-year-old was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy so rare it's believed he was just one of a few people in the UK living with it.
Aiden's heartbroken mum Melanie has paid tribute to her beloved son who died in the home he shared with foster parents in Carnoustie after living there for almost a year.
Melanie, 41, told Aberdeen Live : "Aiden died on the first of the month and it's not really sunk in properly yet. It was just so sudden and so unexpected.
"He suffered a seizure in his sleep and I don't know the name of it but it was such a rare form of epilepsy that he had. I think something like only three people in the UK had suffered from it.
"He had a couple of fits previously but this time he took a seizure through the night and he was found in the morning. When I found out, given it was April 1, I actually thought it was some sick joke. Some April Fools thing.
"I can't even explain how I felt. You just can't put into words. I just completely broke."
Melanie paid tribute to the care Aiden, who dreamt of becoming a chef, received from his foster parents, adding: "He absolutely loved cooking and wanted to be a chef.
"He would spend ages making cakes and doing all sorts in the kitchen. He loved his animals, he had dogs. He had been through a lot in his life and I would say the last year with his foster parents was the happiest I had seen him.
"They had given him probably the best year of his life and I'm really grateful for that. They attended his funeral in Peterhead and they were just absolutely devastated. I could see how heartbroken they were.
"Aiden was finally finding his own voice, he was quite a happy kid. I just knew after he died that I wanted him to come back to me and be buried up here."
Almost £2,000 has been raised for a headstone for Aiden's grave and Melanie says that support from loved ones - and even strangers - has given her some comfort.
"I've just been completely overwhelmed with the amount of people that have got in touch or donated," Melanie added.
"Some of the people I don't even know and they've just seen Aiden's story and donated. I can't even begin to thank all the people that have donated. We hit the target about 13 hours after it launched.
"At the time of Aiden's death we had never factored in the cost of the headstone. I was in tears when that happened. It was so overwhelming."
Aiden is also survived by siblings Joshua, Bradley and Caitlyn. His dad, Ian Reid, sadly died in 2015 aged 37.
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