A BRAVE toddler could soon be back home after undergoing major surgery to remove a tumour from his stomach.

Theo Parker, aged three, was this week sitting up in his hospital bed and itching to get outside following the five-hour operation.

"He is really chirpy and desperate to come home," said dad Kevin. "The consultants are confident it has been a success so hopefully he will be allowed out soon.

"He must have had a dozen tubes coming out of him - they've now taken the last one out."

Kevin, 36, of Elizabeth Road, Blandford, and his wife Miriam, 30, have spent an anxious few days at Southampton General Hospital where the surgery was carried out.

On August 14, Kevin is planning to join dozens of people who are expected to turn out for an eight-mile sponsored walk from the Farquarson Arms, Pimperne, to raise money for a holiday for the family. "I want to be there to say thank you to everyone for their support," added Kevin.

Theo appeared a perfectly healthy little boy who was mad about tractors and playing in his garden until a chance remark by Kevin to his GP led to the discovery of cancer in Theo's stomach at Easter.

An ultra-sound scan showed it contained the lump the size of a grapefruit. Within days he started chemotherapy treatment, spending up to five days at a time on the Piam Brown children's cancer ward at the hospital.

When he comes home, Theo will embark on another round of chemotherapy treatment. The family will know by Christmas whether it has been a complete success.

The sponsored walk starts at 10.30am.

First published: August 13, 2005