A builder was put into a coma with a blood clot on his brain as his mum battled cancer.
Ryan Oxley underwent three brain surgeries after a headache turned out to be more serious.
His nurse mum Jeanette was first diagnosed with Melanoma in 2019 and underwent surgery to remove the cancer.
However, the mum-of-three was given the devastating news that the disease had spread to her lymph nodes, TeesideLive reports.
Jeanette, 62, said: "When we found out the cancer had spread, I was told that I needed to have 12 months of treatment.
"I was in the middle of my treatment when Ryan became really unwell.
"It was just before Christmas in December 2019, Ryan had a really severe headache and was rushed to James Cook Hospital, from then on he just started to deteriorate really quickly."
Ryan, who was 23 at the time, was found to have a serious infection that had spread throughout his body.
He developed blood clots on his brain and lungs and was rushed to the Middlesbrough hospital's Intensive Care Unit where he was put on a ventilator and went into a coma.
Jeanette, who is also mum to Dean, 36 and Lee, 34, said: "It really was touch-and-go, he had to have three surgeries on his brain, and he spent three months in hospital."
She also told how her son was taken to hospital with headache and eye pain, but a scan showed evidence of venous sinus thrombosis.
Ryan's condition continued to deteriorate and went on to have type one respiratory failure and sepsis.
Thankfully, they are both on the road to recovery and want to raise some money as a way to say thank you to the hospital, and all the staff who cared for them.
The mum and son are taking part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge to raise money for South Tees Hospitals Charity.
Jeanette, who is a GP nurse herself, said: "I have now seen things from both sides, when you go through something like this you just get strength from somewhere.
"I have finished treatment now, I just have regular scans, we just both just feel like we want to say thank you.
"We are so grateful to the hospital, who gave us our lives back.
"Ryan still gets headaches, but he manages that, he just wants to get back to the fitness levels that he had before he became ill.
"He used to go to the gym and worked on a building site, so he was very fit and strong, so this challenge is something that will help with that."
The Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge is 24 miles long and takes on the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.
Jeanette and Ryan, now 25, are looking to complete the challenge in under 12 hours.
A link to Jeanette and Ryan's JustGiving page can be found here.