CORONATION Street viewers were left in tears tonight as Leanne and Steve were told their son Oliver will die.
The parents were told his condition is “life-limiting” and “incurable” by the doctor – but they refuse to accept it.
Steve asks how long he’s got left, but the doctor can’t answer whether it’s years, months or even weeks.
It leads to Leanne storming out as she claims three-year-old Oliver has been getting better and demands a second opinion.
And as the devastating diagnosis begins to sink in, Leanne breaks down in tears as cries: “I can’t lose my baby boy.”
“Omg Oliver could die. I am heartbroken,” said one fan.
Another added: “It’s every mother’s worse nightmare.”
Someone else said: “Terrible being told it’s life limiting without any indication how long!”
Three-year-old Oliver has been diagnosed with Mitochondrial disorder after he started having fits.
Corrie worked closely with The Lily Foundation, a charity that supports families and funds research into mitochondrial disease, to ensure the storyline closely reflects the experiences of families with children with mitochondrial disorders.
Soap boss Iain MacLeod said he hoped the storyline would raise awareness and ultimately funding for research into the disease in the hopes of finding a cure.
He said: “This is a story about a family coming to terms with the most difficult news anyone can face and the ways in which this strengthens and shatters relationships in unpredictable ways.
“Above all, we wanted to do justice to the stories of the many thousands of families who have to deal with diagnoses similar to Oliver’s, be it a mitochondrial disorder or another life-limiting condition.
“It is something that, as a society, we find difficult to talk about but which is all too common.”
