Help for Ellis

Hello my name is Gemma and I am Ellis’ Mum and I want to explain our whole story so far. In November 2019, my 12 year old son started to notice a limp and swelling around his left knee. We took him to a local minor injuries unit twice over the next month, only to be sent home with ‘growing pains’ or ‘sports injury’. Ellis doesn’t play sports he is more of a gamer, so to us, this diagnosis didn’t sound right. We knew it was more than growing pains, so I rang his GP to get him an appointment. The receptionist told me the wait for an appointment was currently 2-3 weeks, unless it is an emergency. I did what I think any Mum would do and said I wanted him to be seen urgently, that day. He couldn’t go to school, couldn’t weight bear and the pain was at its worst at night time. I knew he needed to be checked out. He had an X-ray after the GP appointment, which was then followed by a phone call from his GP at 8am the next morning, saying he was being referred to the London Sarcoma Service. This was the day our lives changed. From then on, it all went so quickly. Within a month, he had had a biopsy (on Christmas Eve), CT scans, MRI scans, blood tests, numerous pre-chemo tests and had started chemotherapy. He is on a MAP treatment plan, where he has 10 weeks of 3 different types of chemotherapy, then an operation followed by 18 more weeks of chemotherapy. We were ever so kindly donated train passes for myself, Ellis, his Dad (Gavin) and his Step-Dad (Glenn) to use when we take him up to appointments, but these run out at the end of March. Having financial worries alongside the other things is such a strain on the family. As we all work full time, we don’t fall into any categories of grants etc., which is frustrating. We are all working so hard to make ends meet, to make sure Ellis attends every single appointment (Sometimes he has 4 in one week) in London and Middlesex, also making sure he has everything he needs from little things like hats to big expenses like a new bed for when he comes home after his operation. Ellis has 3 sisters too, who are all obviously affected by the situation. To be able to take them for days out all together and to see them all smile will make the harder days that much easier. I had cancer in 2013 so the children have all grown up around it. When Ellis was first diagnosed he said to me “What’s the point in being scared, it’s 1 in 2 now. If you can do it, I can do it” As of Monday 10th March, I am officially in remission and my cancer is undetectable. No more hospital visits for me, we can now focus wholly on Ellis and getting him to that point. No child or parent should have to face our new found reality, but here we are. We are strong because we are together and have amazing support around us. At first, I didn’t want a Gofundme page set up, because I wanted to do it all ourselves, but there comes a time when you have to swallow your pride and accept help when it is offered, whether it be financial, emotional or practical. To everyone who has generously donated already, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I can’t begin to explain how much it has helped.