I think I am quite funny, but I had never considered 'what time do you go to bed?' one of my best jokes.

In the Murphy household in Leggats Way, Watford, the question is answered with raucous laughter.

This is either because my particular brand of humour is edgier than I had realised, or because when you have a child with complex medical needs there are straight-forward answers.

"I'll stay up until 11 or 12 most nights to make sure that everything is ok, if carers are here.

"I need to tell them what medication he has taken and pass all the information onto them, and if they are from an agency then they may not be as familiar with Liam.

"If we don't have carers then it depends how he's doing. Every day with Liam is different.

"If he's well then I'll stay in the living room, so that I know he's going to sleep. I don't want to be in his room or I will encourage him to be awake.

"If he's not well, it could take longer. He can sometimes clear his own coughs, but if he is choking then obviously he needs help.

"I have an alarm that goes off in the night if he need help, so I could be up by 3.30am."

All of this is delivered in a matter-of-fact way by Liam's mother Angelina Murphy, 36, because this is just how it is.

So much of their home life is so familiar, Friends is on the TV, Laura, 11, is talking to her mum about homework, and if there are any Cheerios left.

Also while I am there Angelina gets what we decide is probably a scam phone call and normal life continues.

We are all in Liam's room the whole time while Kat from Hertfordshire Community Trust, who is giving Liam medication, washing him (although not a bath because of his ear infection which may lead to further complications), making sure he is fed through his tube, filling out paperwork and is constantly busy for the whole three hours.

Liam has a lot of medical conditions, explaining all of them would probably take up the rest of this article and so he needs a lot of attention.

But this is not all Liam is, he is non-verbal yet he is present. He waves at us, and knows when we are talking about him, enjoys music, is a notorious ladies man.

His health can vary day-by-day. He is good at communicating annoyance, but if he is in pain, he tends to have seizures.

"When he started having seizures we were freaking out.

"But now, if he stops breathing I just attach him to his oxygen tank.

"I've had casual conversations with another parent about the benefits of different oxygen masks and CPR to keep your child alive.

"For most people that is not normal, but for us it is just part of the routine."