Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Hopes high that brave toddler Blake will be heading home soon

Blake has made remarkable progress and is likely to return to Dundee this week.
Blake has made remarkable progress and is likely to return to Dundee this week.

It is hoped a Tayside toddler who received life-saving treatment in Edinburgh will return to Dundee this week.

Blake McMillan, from Carnoustie, was placed on life support earlier this month at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh after coming down with pneumonia.

At one stage the prognosis was so bleak that parents Jenny and Paul were asked if they wanted doctors to intervene or let nature take its course.

However, the three-year-old’s condition has steadily improved and doctors are indicating that Blake, who was born with the MECP2 duplication syndrome, could be moved to Ninewells Hospital in the coming days.

Mum Jenny, who also has a six-year-old daughter Faye, praised the care Blake has received in Edinburgh and at Ninewells.

She said: “We have had wonderful care in both hospitals and I will be anxious leaving the security of intensive care but I’m so excited to be closer to my little girl.

“Things will be much easier when Blake returns to Dundee and hopefully it won’t be long till he is home.”

Jenny said Blake has surprised his family and the medical team.

She added: “The staff are amazed that he has pulled through. Last weekend, we didn’t think he would make it I was convinced I was about to lose my little boy.

“All the thoughts and prayers of family, friends, strangers and my fellow MECP2 families helped get me through each hour.

“I believe Blake wanted to live, he knows he has a life worth fighting for and family that love him and need him.

“I tell him all the time about the research and I apologise to him for spending time fundraising.

“One day it will be worth it I do it all for him.

“There are many MECP2 boys very poorly at the moment and I am constantly thinking of them too.”

Thousands of people have been following Blake’s progress through the Blake McMillan Trust page, which was set up to raise cash for those with the syndrome.

MECP2 families are joining together for The 401 Project a campaign to raise $1.2 million this year to go towards research into the condition.

It is hoped that 600 people will each raise $2,000 to begin clinical trials of a possible cure.