'Merry Christmas, I love you': Teen wakes from coma on Christmas Day to say final goodbye

A teen suffering from cancer woke from a coma to tell his family "I love you" on Christmas Day, just days before he died.

Jay Oxley, 17, found a lump in his neck on December 25, 2015, and was told that he had a lymphoblastic lymphoma one month later.

The young farmer underwent bone marrow transplant after chemotherapy failed in July.

When doctors operated on him for an unrelated illness on November 5, they discovered a virus in his lungs which was a complication from his bone marrow transplant.

Jay's father Ben Oxley, 38, and mum Claire, 35, were heartbroken when medics put Jay into a coma on December 11.

He woke up on December 21, but his health worsened and doctors put him into another induced coma in the early hours of Christmas Day.

His parents revealed his last words were: "Merry Christmas, I love you all so much", before he slipped back into unconsciousness.

Jay died 16 days later with his devastated family including his siblings Harry, 13, and Ella, seven, by his side.

Paying tribute to their son, Ben and Claire said: "From the day we first found out he had cancer he has battled harder than any person should ever have to in their lifetime.

"To say we are proud would be an understatement. He has the heart of a lion and never gave up.

"I think he pushed himself to Christmas Day. The last thing he said to us was 'Merry Christmas. I love you all so much'.

"He was a dreamer and we loved that about him - what's life without a dream even if they don't come true? He will leave a hole in our hearts that no-one else can fill."

The pair set up a fundraising page to help their son get a tractor licence and a farming quad bike, as he was an aspiring farmer and had been studying agriculture when he was first diagnosed.

Now they have decided to donate the money to The Teenage Cancer Trust, The Sick Children's Trust, Rainbow's Hospice and Anthony Nolan.