IT’S a Christmas his family feared he may not see.

This time last year, cancer battler Sam Shaw was in America receiving aggressive treatment for his illness.

MORE TOP STORIES:

But this year, Hoddlesden youngster Sam and his parents are enjoying a Christmas that, 12 months ago, they could only have dreamed of.

It wasn’t until the morning of the special trip that mum Christine finally told the five-year-old he was going to Lapland to meet Santa and his reindeer.

Christine, who is married to Carl, said it was the best Christmas present the family could have.

She said: “It was truly magical. It has been unbelievable.

“I got quite emotional because at times we were unsure whether Sam would even get to this Christmas.

“Twelve months ago we could not have dreamed of this.”

The trip was arranged courtesy of wish-granting charity Rays of Sunshine, who had attempted to help the family on several occasions.

Christine said: “Rays of Sunshine contacted us last year when Sam was having his stem cell transplant but his treatment was too intense at that stage.

“We had to say no to them quite a few times when they asked if we could submit a wish.

“They asked us again in September and we had heard about the Lapland trip so we asked it they could send Sam to meet Santa and within a couple of days they said they would.”

Christine said the family had adopted the American tradition ‘elf on a shelf’ during their time in the States, where an elf is placed in the house and travels back and forth to Lapland, bringing with it a present each time.

And one morning last week, Sam found the elf had a note from Santa, telling him he had to go and see him in person.

Christine said: “The first thing he said was, ‘But I have to go to school’!

“I don’t think he really believed it but we told him it was okay and Santa had asked him to go and he got more and more excited about it.”

Sam, Christine and Carl spent three nights in Lapland and enjoyed husky rides, feeding reindeer, meeting Santa’s elves and then the big man himself.

Christine said: “The way they do it is you are searching for Santa all the time and with everything you do you get clues.

“And Sam was in awe and disbelief when this magical door opened and led us up the staircase to Santa.

“It was definitely the real Santa. He was just there in his slippers and his Santa suit, but not his big winter one obviously. This was the one he wears when he is relaxing at home.

“Before we went, Sam had written him a letter and when we got there he had it in his hand.

“He loved the fact he had the letter and that just added to it all.

“He sat and chatted to him about the husky rides and everything we had done.”

The trip capped a good year for the Glencoe Avenue family who were delighted to be told Sam was cancer-free in May.

St Paul’s Primary School pupil Sam was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in January 2013, sparking an appeal to raise the £250,000 needed to get him the potentially life-saving immunotherapy treatment in Philadelphia.

The appeal was backed by people across East Lancashire, including Bank of Dave owner Dave Fishwick, and former Blackburn Rovers midfielder Mark Patterson who arranged a charity match involving a number of ex-professionals, including Colin Hendry and Derek Fazackerley.

Sam and his parents flew to America in October last year for treatment and spent four months there before returning home in January.

Christine said: “He is still on six-weekly reviews but he has been doing brilliantly.

“He is doing really well and his appetite is back so he is eating properly again.

“He is really enjoying being at school and he was in the nativity in the chorus.

“We didn’t have Christmas at home last year, so this was the first Christmas Sam has been able to help with the decorations.

“I think this is going to be the best one ever.”