The family of "Wee Michael" Gartshore are hoping this time next year life will be back to normal for their son who has undergone a stem cell transplant.

The Press have been following nine-year-old Michael's journey since last April as his family, from Rosyth, searched for a blood stem cell donor.

He has been fighting severe aplastic anaemia (SAA), a rare and potentially life-threatening condition.

It was his little sister Charlotte, 4, that proved to be an exact donor match.

Back in December Michael underwent a transplant, which so far has been successful.

But life continues to be challenging while the school boy recovers.

Mum Tracey said: "He only had the transplant in December but already he has picked up a virus twice, meaning he has had to go back to hospital.

"We are on high alert to watch out for certain things and he is still pretty much just at home, so he doesn't come into contact with other people.

"We hope this time next year he'll be playing in the garden with his friends, going to school and we'll be mega laid back!

"We'll go swimming and he can have all the chippy's he wants!"

Things can go quickly wrong for Michael with a low immune system and just a simple cold can cause serious issues.

It means having to severely limit what he can come into contact with so things like a takeaway are off the table.

At the moment the youngster's body is relying on drugs to keep him going, but in the coming months his medication will gradually reduce.

"It will be a big moment once he comes off the drugs to see if he can support himself," Tracey explained.

"At the moment is body isn't equipped to deal with infections.

"Hopefully that will be next Christmas.

"At the moment he gets some teaching a couple of days a week and we go through some workbooks together.

"I'd probably get away just nipping to the local shop with him right now, but he can't do really any more than that.

"Having the transplant is not a quick fix, he's still quite anaemic and just knackered.

"It takes a long time for the body to recover.

"But I think he is done amazing! I think I would have just moaned through it all!"

Without Michael's brave sister the boy could still be waiting for a match for stem cell donor.

That's why the Gartshore's are urging the community to sign up to the DKMS worldwide registry to help others that are not so fortunate during aplastic anaemia awareness week.

"Just to give you an idea how this disease affects people, today Michael is sitting in his room because his sister is got a nasty cough," Tracey added.

"Michael hasn't seen his uncle for nearly a year because we're just don't want to take any chances about what he might come into contact with.

"I clean surfaces such as the bathroom several times a day and we feel very isolated because I just don't want to cut corners and make his recovery longer.

"If Charlotte was not a match then we might still be waiting for a donor.

"We feel lucky and this is why we are still supporting DMKS."

The Gartshore's also want to thank everyone that donated money to the family to help them financially through this challenging time with Michael's health on their GoFund me page.

Visit websites www.dkms.org.uk/en and www.gofundme.com/wee-michaels-journey for more info.