FROM the moment Tommy Harvey was born, his devoted mother Bev knew something was wrong.

“He was blue when he was born and was taken to the special care baby unit because he wasn’t breathing,” she said.

Tommy needed a tube to help him breathe. When doctors tried to remove it he stopped breathing again so they had to keep the tiny tot on a ventilator.

He was transferred from Colchester General Hospital to the neo-natal intensive care unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridgeshire where medics finally managed to stabilise his condition.

Bev said: “They told us he might pick up but in the back of our minds we already knew the extent of the damage.

“Tommy had an MRI scan when he was about eight months old which showed the central part of his brain had severe trauma. There was literally nothing there but fluid.

“We knew there was going to be significant challenges but as he grew up it wasn’t just seizures and stopping breathing.”

Tommy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was three-years-old. He also has scoliosis and lumbar lordosis which affect his spine and double dislocated hips.

Special metal rods were put in his back in a bid to straighten his spine as he grew.

Bev, 39, of West Road, Clacton, said: “He needed operations every six or seven months to lengthen them.

“About three years ago we found out he’d broken his growth rods so he had to have them removed.

“He was without them for about a year until he had healed enough to have them reinserted.

“He now has rods which are fused to his spine that will stay there permanently and thankfully they seem to have worked.”

A year ago Tommy had the tops of his thigh bones removed which reduced his pain and helped his sitting position. Now 15, Tommy also suffers from seizures as well as his other challenging medical conditions.

His family and supporters are now trying to raise £6,500 for a special bed for Tommy, who goes to Shorefields School in Clacton.

Bev said: “He loves school. When you take him out of school he hates it. He hates holidays. He’s a typical 15-year-old boy, who only does what he wants to do, when he wants to do it.

“His social worker has seen him do things at school but when I try to do them at home, he refuses point blank.

“But all children have things they do and don’t like and I’m happy he can still show his preferences.

“He’s got his little quirks and he can be a pain in the bum - just like any other child.”

Bev said no funding is available for the bed leaving the family to raise the cash themselves or appeal to charities for help.

Bev said: “It would mean I can let him relax and lie out rather than sitting in a chair or wheelchair and still hold him straight.

“It would also let me do his physio properly for him.”

Bev added: “There isn’t one day when a parent of a child with special needs doesn’t have to fight for something, whether it be respite, a piece of equipment or direct payment care hours.

“Even getting a child statemented can be an absolute nightmare - it’s a constant and continual fight.”

However, she has had help from well-wishers and Bev said she was staggered by their generosity. A Christmas bazaar fundraiser raised £700 towards the target.

Bev said: “I want to thank everyone who has supported us. It has been unbelievable how many people have given their support and help – it’s absolutely staggering.”