"What had been a very slow process, all of a sudden changed and everything happened really quickly.
 

"It was like all of our New Year's wishes had come true all at once."

The couple had been walking through Central Park as part of a movie tour when Ms Amos went into labour.

Dax weighed only 3lb when he was born.

Doctors initially said he would not be well enough to fly home until March.

Friends rallied in support, raising thousands of pounds to help with their bills before the hospital and insurance company said that all costs would be met.

 

However, tiny Dax still needed to be well enough to make the journey and have his own passport before he could be given the all-clear to fly home on a medical jet.

It was not a simple process. Just getting a photograph for his American passport meant his parents had to watch doctors briefly remove the tubes used to help Dax to breathe and feed.

On Thursday, staff at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York finally gave the family the go-ahead to return to the UK - after a seven-week wait - where a hospital bed was waiting for him.

"On Friday evening we were transferred to the airport with Dax in the incubator," said his mother, of Burgh-le-Marsh, Lincolnshire.

"We had our own private plane with just us, the pilots, a team of doctors and nurses - it was like a military operation.

"We had to stop off to re-fuel twice in America before flying over the Atlantic and making a final stop in Iceland."

The final step of the journey for Dax will be to grow strong enough to return to his own home. He suffers from Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) which means one of the main arteries from his heart has not closed properly.

His parents thanked everyone who had helped.

"So many people have pulled together to help us get our little boy home - we will never forget it," said Ms Amos.

"The next step of our new life with Dax can finally begin, we couldn't be more happy."