BRAVE little Tom Molyneux, aged five, told today how he was recovering from a life-saving bone marrow transplant. Speaking on the phone from an isolation unit at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, the Bolton schoolboy said he was getting better watching his favourite cartoons on TV. Just four days after his transplant, he said: "I want to play and be with my mummy."

Tom also said he had "enjoyed" his operation, peformed in a bid to beat an early form of leukaemia.

"It was good," he said.

"I just lay on the bed and laughed."

Doctors say it could be weeks before they know for sure whether Tom's body has accepted bone marrow transfused into him from his 18-year-old brother Lee.

Tom's mum Karen, who has maintained a bedside vigil, said her son's encouraging early signs had given her hope.

But she added it would be a long wait before she and husband Roy, of Hibernia Street, Deane, would know his fate.

"Tom's doing great at the moment," she said.

"He is laughing, playing and wasn't even bothered by his operation, but we know he is likely to become ill as his body adapts and it will be a while before we can be certain he'll be OK."

Meanwhile, Bolton's Charlotte Russell, 12, is also recovering at Royal Manchester after bone marrow from nine-year-old brother Nicholas was transplanted into her on Friday.

The Sharples schoolgirl, who is bidding to beat killer genetic disorder Fanconi anaemia, suffered a sore throat and stomach pains after her transfusion.

But today her grandad Len Russell said Charlotte's parents Chris and Debra, of Sharples Avenue, Sharples, were happy their daughter had overcome her first hurdle.

"It's so far so good and Charlotte is already complaining she's bored," he told the BEN. "But it really is a case of wait and see now.

"Everything that could be done has been done, but it will be a while before we know whether the transplant has been a success.

"We've just got to keep our fingers crossed."

Both youngsters, who received chemotherapy in the days before their transplants, now face weeks in isolation to avoid infection while they recover.

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