TWO struggling parents have been forced to go days without eating in order to afford to get their eight-month-old son, who has a rare brain condition, to specialist hospitals across the north of the country.

Danielle Watson, 31, and her fiancé Michael Watson, 23, of St Vincent Street, Barrow, take their son, Lawson, to children's hospitals in Manchester, Newcastle and Lancaster at least once a month to get him the treatment that he needs.

The miracle baby was diagnosed with ventriculomegaly at birth - a condition that occurs in just one per cent of pregnancies and causes ventricles in the baby's brain to dilate.

Miss Watson was told at 32 weeks that she should consider an abortion because it was unlikely that the baby would survive, but she made the brave decision to keep her bundle of joy.

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Since the birth, Lawson has suffered from seizures on a daily basis and the pair have had to travel hundreds of miles to seek out specialist care from doctors, who have told the parents that he is on the autistic spectrum.

However, because he can't be diagnosed as autistic until the age of five, the pair can't claim disability living allowance for their son and as a result have had to claim for travel expenses out of their child tax benefits, which goes towards feeding and clothing all three of Miss Watson's children.

The 31-year-old mum said: "It's a loophole; they should give parents more support and I just think it's ridiculous.

"The government just don't understand what people are going through. Politicians want the best for their children and as a mother I am exactly the same. It has been an ongoing nightmare since he came into the world."

Miss Watson has claimed employment support allowance since 2012 as she is unable to work after being diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome, which has caused extreme swelling of the nerves at the end of her spinal cord.

In order to claim travel expenses for hospital visits, the 31-year-old has to provide dated monthly documents showing her benefit entitlements.

However, due to the complex nature of Lawson's condition, his appointments aren't scheduled, therefore sometimes they can't provide the right documents to recoup their fuel costs.

Miss Watson said: "It is a traumatic time, we shouldn't have to be worrying about these extra expenses on top of worrying about his condition. I can't even count the amount of times we've missed out on getting our money back.

"We try and set money aside for him to go but we shouldn't have to do that. We will sometimes go days without eating in order to get him to hospital and to make sure he gets what he needs."

The pair also once had to pay £90 to stop in a Manchester Travelodge when Lawson had to stay in hospital overnight and they were unable to claim expenses on accommodation costs.

They also can't claim money back for visits to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary because it falls within a certain radius.

The 31-year-old said: "There needs to be more support and funding from the government. Parents want to be there for their children but its very difficult when travel expenses are so high.

"It shouldn't be an issue in this day and age to stay with your children if they are poorly."

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The strain of Lawson's condition has also affected Miss Watson mentally as she has started taking anti-depressants to cope with the constant stress of having to take her son back and forth to hospital.

She is desperate to receive more help to allow her to take Lawson to his appointments without worrying about the financial implications it will have on her family.

Miss Watson added: "Until they can pinpoint what category Lawson belongs to we're not able to get the extra financial help that we need.

"There needs to be more support and funding from the government. Parents want to be there for their children but its very difficult when travel expenses are so high.

"People think it's plain sailing if you're on benefits but it's not. We don't abuse the system and go out every weekend. We don't have any extra money to buy the kids special toys - it's a massive misconception."