A FAMILY who lights up their house in honour of those who saved their son's life has brought back the festive tradition to the delight of children and families.
Every year, Michelle Lever and her family drape their Cross Farm Road home in Christmas lights, decorations, and characters to get people in the festive spirit.
Starting the tradition in 2008, the annual lights have gotten "bigger and better" as the years have passed, but each year it is a touching gesture to the doctors and nurses at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
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When Michelle's son Ian was just two-years-old, his temperature had spiked and his stomach was "rock hard". Michelle says that although doctors at Whiston Hospital thought it was nothing too serious, her "mother's instinct" led her to demand further checks.
This led to Ian's transfer to Alder Hey, where doctors discovered that the two-year-old's appendix had burst and he was suffering from peritonitis, which is a potentially life-threatening infection of the stomach.
After the quick work of doctors saved Ian's life that day, Alder Hey doctors also treated him for blood transfusions and a splenectomy, to remove his spleen, while other family members have also been successfully treated at the children's hospital.
With the family forever grateful to those at Alder Hey, Michelle could think of no other organisation to raise money for when thinking of a cause to pair the festive lights with.
To show his gratitude, Ian also gets involved in the festivities and hands out sweets as Father Christmas every night to fascinated kids, with the tradition raising thousands for Alder Hey over the years.
Michelle, who is a carer for Ian, said: "People love the lights and they can't wait to see them every year.
"Each year we try to buy something new so they are going bigger and better, and Tesco and Morrisons have helped us out with the sweets too.
"We realised that it's so expensive to take kids to see Santa these days, so we wanted to do something for free, and Ian is great with all the kids and he really takes time with each one."
With Alder Hey buckets outside the Cross Farm Road home, you can also help Michelle and Ian continue their festive tradition by visiting their fundraising page here.
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