By Alex Dowdalls

THE future looked bleak for Cameron Keir when, at the age of eight, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball.

Parents Andrew and Michelle were devastated to hear their son – one of a set of triplets – was seriously ill.

And worse was to follow when surgeons delivered the shocking news that his condition was inoperable.

Fast forward a decade, however, and Cameron is now an 18-year-old man – full of life and hope for what lies ahead.

It was all so different back in the dark days of 2007, when a series of violent headaches led to Andrew and Michelle seeking help for their troubled child.

After the diagnosis of a slow-growing tumour was confirmed, Andrew – a Bishop for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – led the prayers for a miracle to save Cameron’s life.

And his prayers were answered.

After receiving a second opinion from surgeons at the old Southern General Hospital, in Glasgow, the family was told there was an operation that could be carried out to rid Cameron’s brain of the 5cm tumour.

But the five-hour procedure that saved Cameron’s life was not without risk.

In fact, Neilston couple Andrew, 56, and Michelle, 53, were told the operation was so complex that he might not survive.

They were also told Cameron could be left severely disabled, blind or suffering from behavioural problems.

Cameron admits that, at the time, his illness left him scared and confused.

He told the Barrhead News: “I remember having really sore pains in my head. One day, it was too much. I had stayed off school and my mum called the doctor to come to our house.

“The doctor came and decided to call an ambulance. I remember being carried from the house to the ambulance and how the ambulance didn’t put its noises on because it would hurt my head.

“I then had a scan and was told that I had a brain tumour. I didn’t really understand what that was but I remember my parents telling me everything would be okay.

“I always remember being in my own little room in the hospital, surrounded by my brothers and family.”

Miracle boy Cameron not only survived the operation but later got the all-clear from doctors and is now fit and healthy.

A decade on, he has just celebrated another Christmas, having already clocked up an impressive list of life achievements along the way.

Cameron went on: “My biggest achievement I would say is ‘my life.’ What I mean by that is that I am alive, I have no health problems and can still do the things I love without a struggle.

“It really is a miracle.”

After the lifesaving operation, there would be many months of rest and recuperation for Cameron, as well as careful monitoring by medical staff.

For the first five years after surgery, he had to undergo MRI scans annually until, in 2012, the family received the good news that he was clear of cancer.

Last summer, Cameron moved to Spain to begin two years of missionary work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He views it as an opportunity to ‘give something back.’

Cameron added: “The surgeon’s name for my operation was Mr St George and what I would say to him would simply be ‘Thank you.’

“As well as thanking him, I would thank God, because I know that God touched this situation and that, through the prayers and faith of my friends and family, everything turned out well.”