CHRISTMAS looks set to come early for one Cairneyhill family with news that a long-awaited kidney transplant for their brave little boy is planned for the coming weeks.

Three year-old Daniel Cornet, who won the Press Bonny Baby competition in 2014, was born with end stage renal failure and has to endure 10 hours of dialysis treatment every day to fight infection.

After months of tests, the brave tot is due to have the vital operation just five days before Christmas.

Mum Louise Paton is aware that the festive period is going to be somewhat different for her, partner Nicky Cornet and their son.

“It still feels a bit surreal,” she told the Press. “We have been waiting for it for so long and I don’t think it will sink in until it happens.

“It will be a different kind of Christmas and it doesn’t come without its own complications, bearing in mind there are no guarantees.

“We haven’t quite worked out how Christmas will work. We might have a word with Santa and ask him that if he is bringing any big things, he may be able to drop them off a little bit early at the house. Santa may be at the hospital but we think Daniel will be in intensive care until at least Christmas Day.”

Although the operation is scheduled for December 20, Louise is aware that any setbacks between now and then will mean things can change.

“We are taking it a day at a time,” she added. “He has had peritonitis twice in the last couple of months so the challenge is to keep him well before the transplant.

"If he gets it again, it means less access for his dialysis which would be a massive issue. It has been a bit up and down and things are kind of getting a bit more challenging. It is a long process and it has been quite stressful but we are nearly there so we have our fingers crossed.

“He is going to come out of nursery early and going to finish up at the end of the month. Then we will have a couple of weeks where he doesn’t go out or have visitors to keep him away from everything.

“It will mean he will maybe miss all the Santa things but he is young enough that he doesn’t know too much about everything that is going on. It would maybe be harder if it was next year.”

As reported previously in the Press, little Daniel is an ambassador for the Live Life Give Life charity – which raises awareness of organ donation – and he has helped raise a staggering £130,000 for Kidney Research UK.

Last Thursday night, he was named winner of Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids Award in recognition of these efforts and received a standing ovation when he collected his honour.

“It was quite a night,” added Louise. “We turned round and everyone was on their feet. He had a brilliant time and was up dancing and absolutely loved it.”