THE best Christmas gift seven- month-old Bradley could have is a piece of equipment to help save his life. The baby has had four operations. He has a pacemaker and an artificial heart valve. Bradley, from Sawtry, has a condition called thrombophilia which

THE best Christmas gift seven- month-old Bradley could have is a piece of equipment to help save his life.

The baby has had four operations. He has a pacemaker and an artificial heart valve. Bradley, from Sawtry, has a condition called thrombophilia which means that without medication his blood could clot and cause a fatal blockage.

His parents Stephanie and Charlie Spanton have launched a fundraising campaign to help raise £7,000 for a vital piece of medical equipment to keep their son alive.

Almost every day, Bradley is taken to Holly Ward, at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, for his blood to be tested. Without the regular blood checks the toddler's prosthetic heart valve could become blocked, which would prove fatal. But the trips are said to be distressing for the youngster and his mother, Stephanie, who does not drive and has to rely on family and friends to take her and her baby to and from the hospital. Not knowing where else to turn, Stephanie, 20, and her husband, Charlie, 25, approached The Hunts Post and asked us to publish their story. They are hoping readers will help raise the £7,000 needed for an International Normalised Ratio (INR) home blood testing machine for their son.

Bradley underwent his first heart operation when he was just four weeks old. Since then he has been in and out of Great Ormond Street Hospital and was a month ago given a pacemaker after complications with the fitting of his artificial heart valve.

On his last visit, staff arranged for Bradley and the other children to be visited by Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp. The actor's seven-year-old daughter Lily-Rose had been treated at Great Ormond Street in March after kidney failure.

Mrs Spanton said: "Bradley is just like any other baby but needs more attention because of the problems with his heart.

"By getting a home INR machine we hope to make life as comfortable as possible for Bradley so that he does not have to be ferried back and forth to hospital."

"It would be a perfect Christmas present if we could make a start on raising the money for the IRN machine." They are not currently available on prescription.

INFORMATION: To make a donation to Bradley for an INR machine, contact The Hunts Post newsroom by e-mailing news@huntpost.co.uk or phoning 01480 411481 or write to: Bradley appeal, The Hunts Post, 30 High Street, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE29 3TB.