Kobi Crolla has been chosen to switch on the Christmas lights at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) on Sunday.
The one-year-old was born in July last year at 29 weeks, weighing just 3.3lbs.
Since then, he has suffered a grade 4 brain bleed, a collapsed lung, undergone 16 operations and been diagnosed with hydrocephalus – a dangerous build-up of fluid on the brain.
READ MORE: Seven-month-old baby Kobi is Hibernian’s lucky charm
His mum, Kirsty Grandison, told the Courier that it was eight days before she got a first cuddle with him.
She said: “It felt like a miracle.
“Still, the battles kept coming.
“Kobi developed meningitis.
“Each day brought a new fear: blood transfusions, lumbar punctures, MRIs.
“He was having up to 10 seizures a day.
Daniel Crolla and Kirsty Grandison alongside Kobi (Image: Contributed)
“We were always panicked, always so scared for him. We still are.
“Eventually we got a diagnosis: hydrocephalus – a dangerous build-up of fluid on the brain.
“The only option was brain surgery to install a shunt.
“This was just the beginning.
“Since then, our boy has endured 16 surgeries.
“Sixteen times we’ve handed him over, not knowing if he’d come back.”
READ MORE: Town centre chippy highly recommended at national awards
This Sunday, alongside his proud parents, mum Kirsty and dad Daniel Crolla – and Hibs captain and charity volunteer Joe Newell – Kobi will press the big red button to light up the 20-foot tree at the hospital that has cared for him since birth.
Pippa Johnston, deputy CEO at Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, thanked the family, who live in Prestonpans, for taking part in the switch-on.
She said: “We would like to say an enormous thank you to Kobi and his wonderful family for helping to make the hospital’s Christmas light switch-on so memorable.
“They are a remarkable family and Kobi is a superstar in every sense of the word.”