'My baby was just eight hours old when doctors realised horrifying diagnosis'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

After an 'awful' pregnancy, little Jacob was welcomed to the world six weeks early - and just hours later, doctors were forced to deliver yet more devastating news as they realised the baby had been born with leukaemia.

Laura Stubley Down, a 35-year-old processing manager, said it was a “nightmare” to learn Jacob, born via IVF last July, had a rare form of the disease.

Laura, with her wife Tracey, a 45-year-old shop manager, said Jacob was born six weeks early after an “awful” pregnancy. Just eight hours later, the couple were told their son had suspected leukaemia and he was later diagnosed with transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM), a rare bone marrow disorder which usually only appears in newborns with Down syndrome.

Jacob is only the 21st reported person without the condition, but now eight-months-old, his parents are celebrating that he is miraculously in remission. READ MORE: New IKEA opening in Greater Manchester today - where and when it opens “It had been a difficult pregnancy and when Jacob arrived six weeks early we were utterly overjoyed at becoming first-time parents, but it was not long before everything changed,” Laura said. “Finding out that your newborn has leukaemia was overwhelming.