A desperate dad is working 77 hours a week as a delivery driver to pay for his sick baby son's hospital treatment - almost 7,000 miles away.

Roger Kerrison, from Plymouth, is doing everything possible to stump up the £600 a fortnight it costs in bills to care for little Nicholas at a private hospital in the Philippines.

This includes working 11-hour days, seven days a week, for company Deliveroo.

But Roger feels like he is taking "one step forward and two steps back with the bills", reports Plymouth Live .

His four-month-old son Nicholas, who weighs just 7.5lbs, was born and is being treated for leukemia and heart problems in the Philippines, where his mother Elena Gapo lives.

Nicholas is just four months old and weighs just over 7lbs (
Image:
Plymouth Herald WS)

This week it was also confirmed the tot has Noonan syndrome - a genetic condition which causes heart defects and unusual facial features.

His dad, Roger Kerrison, said that due to him not being present at the birth, the Philippine authorities "refused to put [his] name on Nicholas' birth certificate" which means that they are unable to apply for dual nationality for their son.

Roger said Nicholas has to be treated privately because the public hospitals in the Philippines do not have the necessary facilities.

The baby is regularly flown to another island, Cebu City, to receive treatment.

Nicholas' parents are paying for his medical treatment because Nicholas is not eligible for treatment on the NHS - which means Roger is working all the hours he can get.

He estimates that the treatment is costing £300 a week.

Roger met Nicholas' mum two years ago when he was holidaying in her country, and has been travelling back and forth ever since.

Roger fell in love with Elena after holidaying in the Philippines and regularly flies back to see her and Nicholas (
Image:
Plymouth Herald WS)

Roger said: "I met Elena about two years ago, we spent the whole month together and had a fantastic time and then when I returned to the UK we continued to call and text each other continuously.

"After a few months I went there again and spent another month with her and that's when we decided I would move over there permanently."

Roger then moved over to be with Elena and they started working in a café together.

Elena soon fell pregnant.

Just before the birth of Nicholas, the couple were struggling to make enough money and Roger flew back to the UK to work.

Roger said: "About a month after he was born I decided to go visit them and surprise them.

"About three days before I was due to surprise them Elena called me and was very worried because she had found two lumps in his lower abdomen, that were growing very fast.

Nicholas's hospital bills are around £300 a week (
Image:
Plymouth Herald WS)

"When I got there it was so nice to see them, but I could see straight away that Nicholas did not look right so we took him to the hospital.

"The hospital was disgusting, we had five patients in a small room and two family carers per patient so in total 15 people in the room.

"It was overrun by cats and the whole hospital smelt of cat wee, they told us they needed the cat to keep the rats down. It was so hot in the hospital and you just could not breathe."

At the hospital, they were told that they would have to find somewhere private to get treatment due to lack of facilities.

"By then we had completely run out of money and spent everything we had after borrowing from friends and family," Roger said.

Nicholas' parents have been flying him to a different island in Cebu City, "for endless tests and treatment".

Roger just wants his son to get better (
Image:
Plymouth Herald WS)

Roger continued: "Nicholas has been admitted a few times for various tests and treatment but there is no change in his condition and he is only 3.4 kilos and he is four months old.

"We have also been told he has a heart murmur and there could be a very serious problem with his heart. His body is covered in a rash which is being treated by a dermatologist, he also has undescended testicle."

The family hope that when Roger's name is added to Nicholas' birth certificate, he will be considered for dual nationality which will enable him to be flown to the UK for treatment.

Roger said: "Until then we have to pay for treatment which is why we started a crowd funding page in the hope that people will help us with the costs.

"I am working seven days a week, 11-hours a day, to try to keep up but it’s costing around £600 every 14 days.

"It seems like every time we take him to hospital they find another problem and Elena and I are exhausted and very stressed and worried.

"The financial worries jut add to the problem because in the Philippines they will not treat you until you prove you can pay and have to pay for every small detail."

So far, the couple have raised £2,116 of their £10,000 goal on Nicholas' Just Giving page.

The page reads: "I am currently working 11 hour shifts as a delivery driver for Deliveroo and I am doing everything possible to pay my own way but I seem to be taking one step forward and two steps back with the hospital bills.

"The money will be used for frequent trips to the hospital and accommodation and to pay for the escalating costs for private treatment.

"You can only imagine how much this will cost and why we are so desperate for your help. Kindly SHARE this campaign with others if you would like to help me on this journey.

"If you met my son I know you would fall in love with him, he is so cute and he is my life. I just want to make it all go away for him.

"Please can you help me raise the money we need."

To donate to the page, click here .

You can also follow Nicholas' journey on his Facebook page here.