A Lanarkshire schoolboy who received video messages from superstar footballers including Cristiano Ronaldo, Phil Jones and Jesse Lingard has been described as a "warrior" by his family.
Just six months ago, 11-year-old Mark Cannon - known as 'Wee Mark' - was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia - a very aggressive form of blood cancer.
But that was just the start of a long battle fraught with a series of major complications including sepsis, multiple seizures and even sight loss.
The football-daft schoolboy from Strathaven was in intensive care for several weeks after enduring terrifying seizures in front of his parents, Mark and Sharlene, and was wheelchair-bound at times during his gruelling months in hospital.
Mark astounded everyone by getting home from hospital last month and will go back to Kirklandpark Primary school next week for a few hours. However, now begins another fight - staying free from common illness.
The youngster's mum, Sharlene, is now urging parents of pupils at the school to inform her or the school immediately if their child or a child they have come into contact with has chickenpox or any of the measles type illnesses, as this could prove fatal to Mark.
Mark's battle began on August 16 last year when returned home from his first day back at school after the summer break.
Collapsing on the doorstep, his frantic mother scrambled to get him the help he needed.
Sharlene told Lanarkshire Live : "This was the start of what can only be described as a tidal wave of despair and misery.
"The week before he had been suffering from a sore stomach but did not have any other symptoms really.
"The day he collapsed he was struggling with extreme shortness of breath and was so unwell. He isn't the type of boy to complain over just anything, so I knew something was seriously wrong."
Indeed, Mark was so ill that his distraught mum thought he was having a heart attack.
Concerns for Mark were so bad he was rushed by ambulance to Hairmyres Hospital and had to be taken into A&E in a chair.
Sharlene added: "We were there for six hours before Mark was seen and then discharged, which I couldn't believe to be quite honest.
"Mark also had bruising on his body which appeared from nowhere and, we later discovered, is a sign of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia."
Just an hour after getting home, the family received a call from the hospital asking them to return immediately.
Sharlene explained: "The doctor had taken blood and when we went back we were given the awful news that Mark had leukaemia.
"The number of leukaemia cells in his blood was through the roof."
Mark was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow before being admitted to the Schiehallion children’s cancer ward there, where his treatment started immediately.
It was the beginning of an agonising six months for the youngster and his family.
Due to the aggressive chemotherapy Mark underwent, he developed e-coli and his double Hickman line - used for treatment - became infected in October.
This led to Mark contracting sepsis, with his kidneys and liver both failing and causing a condition called PRES. This led to Mark taking multiple seizures and even the loss of his eyesight.
His cancer treatment had to stop for two months because he was so ill, and his family feared the delay may result in the disease spreading.
But the brave schoolboy spent three weeks in children’s intensive care, where a machine administered medicine to regulate his blood pressure, saving both Mark's life and sight.
Sharlene said watching her son take seizure after seizure was one of the worst periods of his whole ordeal.
She recalled: "Two crash teams came in, there was about 20 people in the room. The seizures seemed to last forever and it was pandemonium.
"Everything seemed to go in slow motion and I thought at that point, 'we're going to lose him'. As a parent is was horrific to see.
"Then, when we were told that his cancer treatment would have to stop for two months I feared the worst again, thinking he would be riddled by the time treatment started again."
But Mark astounded doctors when he came out of intensive care and tests revealed his leukaemia markers had actually improved, with less of the cancer in his body.
He was put on another specific treatment for his leukaemia, blinatumomab, which had less of the harsh-side effects of chemo, however, is not widely used in the UK yet.
During Mark's battle to recover, Sharlene said the messages from his footballing heroes "meant the world to him".
"For a wee boy to go through what he had, to be in a room for weeks on end, to wake up and not be able to see at one point, must be one of the scariest things in the world," Sharlene added.
"His big brother, James, who he is really close to, couldn't even get in to see him when he was seriously ill in intensive care due to COVID restrictions. He also had to spend Christmas and New Year in hospital.
"To get messages directly from the Celtic team and manager, the likes of Scott Brown, Jesse Lingard and the rest of the Manchester United team, was such a boost.
"And for Phil Jones, who is his absolute favourite, to also send a shirt signed by the Manchester team just made his day.
"When he is better, Celtic have also offered for him to be a ball boy and just other wee things like that.
"He couldn't believe it and I think it was when he got the message from Ronaldo that he said, 'is this a wind-up? It's fake'.
"We were just amazed by it too and he was getting cards and well-wishes from everywhere, from people we don't even know."
Although Mark will still have to undergo chemo treatment that was postponed when he became seriously ill, and he still has to attend hospital as a day-patient, Sharlene says there is now hope for the family.
"He is a warrior and has, against all odds, pulled through," his emotional mum told us. "He no longer needs to use his wheelchair full-time and his sight has returned.
"He is a wee superhero, but all the kids in the Schiehallion ward are. No matter what Hell they are all going through, you go in and they all have a wee smile on their faces.
"Although we know we can't say for sure the leukaemia will never come back, at this moment in time it's hopeful.
"He is in remission and latest tests have come back that there is no trace of the disease in his body.
"We have to thanks all of Mark's consultants and specialists and the staff at the Schiehallion ward - without them our son wouldn't be alive today."
She added: "I am now warning about the dangers of chickenpox and measles for Mark, as I know first hand how fatal it can be.
"My cousin had neuroblastoma cancer as a child and passed away after someone went to school with chickenpox. That's how deadly it can be."
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