HAVING their child at home for Christmas is the best gift Ruth Lawrie and Gareth Wilkieson could ask for.

Their baby, Logan, spent last Christmas in Newcastle General Hospital where he was kept in an isolation unit while he was treated for a rare illness which affects his immune system.

But this year the youngster is full of life and will be surrounded by his family.

Ruth, aged 21, said: “Logan has come on leaps and bounds and is really looking forward to Christmas.

“He loves singing and dancing around the house and appears as healthy as any other toddler.

“People have said that if they didn’t know he was ill there would be no way they could tell.”

Logan, aged 21 months, suffers from a condition called Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

The condition meant that anything he touched could be fatal because his immune system was unable to fight infections.

Gareth and Ruth gave up their rented home in Dale Street West, Horwich, when Logan was admitted to hospital in Newcastle— one of only two in the country to treat children with the condition — in October, 2007.

The disease affects just one in 100,000 babies.

The condition meant that he had to live in a “bubble” of clean air and could only have contact with a few people.

Everything he touched had to be sterilised to stop him picking up infections.

He underwent a successful stem-cell transplant and blood transfusion in November last year.

Ruth added: “Fortunately things have been relaxed a bit now so he can have more things and it is not as strict on the cleanliness.

“He has to go back to Newcastle every three months for a check- up but the doctors are pleased with his progress.”

And Logan can now spend time with other children.

Ruth said: “He enjoys playing with other children which is great. He really has come on leaps and bounds.”

The family moved from Newcastle to Wigan in March and are on a Bolton Council’s waiting list to get a suitable house in their home town.