Liam was diagnosed with B-cell high-risk leukaemia (ALL) on September 6, 2022. His mum, Lisa, shares his story.
Liam is 13 years old and from Jersey (CI), but as there isn’t an Oncology Team on the Island, Liam was flown to Southampton Hospital for treatment. Liam had to leave behind his brother and sister and all his home comforts. Liam started his treatment by having his port put in his chest and was given his first dose of chemotherapy. All was going okay when a week into his journey Liam developed an infection, and within hours was in the PICU. Liam was in critical condition and was put on a ventilator. His organs were shutting down, and his body was struggling to fight septic shock.
Liam spent five days in the PICU and was relieved when he was moved back up to the Piam Brown Ward to continue with treatment. Within a few hours, Liam was fighting for his life again, fluid was filling up his lung and surrounding his heart. He needed oxygen to help push the fluid out. Liam also had high liver levels, so was put on medication to help. Liam spent another week on bed rest but beat the odds and slowly started to rebuild his strength. The decision was made for Liam to have his port removed as it was causing risks. An IV line was inserted into his arm while the infection healed. Liam was discharged from the hospital two weeks later.
Liam and I (mum) stayed in a flat in Southampton, and this is where we stayed for another six months for intensive chemotherapy treatment before hopefully returning home to Jersey. Liam will fly back and forth for over three years to receive chemotherapy. Liam's mindset is to try and be positive, and he tries to keep himself busy by doing small workouts in the flat which helps him through the hard days. Liam loves to FaceTime his dog and chat with his dad, brother, and sister when he can. Liam has remained so positive and talks about his future when he’s home but also has his hard times; he struggles with being isolated from his school friends and his sports. Being away from our loved ones and our home comforts is hard, we miss everyone back home. It’s also hard as a parent on your own in a strange place as you need to be positive; there are no rest days or moments to just let it all out and cry.
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