People turn to community support as thousands still without power

“The coldness can be really detrimental to his health,” she said.

“A cold could sit on his chest and give him a chest infection.”

The family spent Friday night in their own home, using blankets to stay warm, but have since moved out to stay with family members.

“We’re just so lucky that we have got family up here, because there are so many people who will be stuck at home and have to just make do with what they have,” she said.

“He’s got a nebuliser to do every day. If he didn’t do that, it could affect his health; he could get mucus build-up in his chest.

“It wouldn’t just be a cold to him. It could be a nasty chest infection that could land him in the hospital.

“The one or two days that he has missed his nebuliser hopefully won’t have an effect on his health, but if it were to go on for the full week, it definitely would, and we can’t take that chance.”

Ms Watson said she’s had to do additional physiotherapy on her son to counteract the cold.

She told BBC News NI that she hopes NIE’s estimate of ten days to restore service is the “worst-case scenario”.

“I’m hoping that there’s a good chance that it comes on any day really, or any hour possible,” she said.