THIS year will be extra special for the Linden family as they will be taking their baby daughter home thanks to the treatment she has received at Glasgow children's hospital, writes Tony Diver.

David Linden, MP for Glasgow East, was so grateful to the hospital for the he and his wife Roslyn were given he pulled on his running shoes to raise money.

He handed over a cheque for more than £650 to staff yesterday and revealed why they are looking forward to Christmas. His daughter will spend her first Christmas at home all be it wearing an oxygen mask.

David praised the “extreme dedication and professionalism” of NHS staff who looked after his daughter Jessica for three weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit, after she was born prematurely.

She now breathes constantly from an oxygen tank, which Mr Linden or his wife carry around when they leave the house.

“We were told that she probably wouldn’t have to use the oxygen tank past one or two months, but we were told last week that she probably would be on it for at least the rest of the year,” he said.

“So it’s at that stage we start to think about how we going to adjust our lives a little bit. There are simple things, like when we go to Tesco or Aldi, that’s an oxygen canister on your back and carrying your child.

“I feel there’s a strong chance that she’ll spend her first Christmas on oxygen, but I don’t want to get too bogged down in that. I know from having been in the neonatal intensive care unit that there are families in far worse positions than us.

“Some of these kids will spend Christmas in a neonatal intensive care unit. So we’re very fortunate that we’ve been able to get Jessica home.”

Mr Linden raised £668 for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity by taking part in the Great Scottish Run at the end of September. He presented the cheque yesterday to Shona Cardle, Chief Executive of the charity.

Mr Linden’s first child, Isaac, was also born prematurely in 2015.

His wife Roslyn, a primary school teacher in Glasgow, is a Type 1 diabetic, which makes premature birth much more likely.

“There are a number of risks associated with a diabetic pregnancy. Every time my wife injects insulin, which is necessary for keeping her alive, it means the baby inside her grows bigger,” he said.

“What that in effect does is it means your baby will never grow full term, it will essentially die. A diabetic baby will always be premature. That’s how we ended up with premature children in our case.”

He hopes that the money he has raised will help to keep children happy while they are in neonatal intensive care.

He said: “It’s about making sure that when kids are in hospital, first and foremost they are looked after, but secondly to make sure it’s as comfortable an experience for them as possible.

“Hopefully the money I’ve raised, however small, will be able to go towards their efforts to help that.”