Noah's journey to continue a happy life

Here goes…..

On Thursday the 26th December 2024 our little boy fell over like any toddler would, it was a simple accident. We administered first aid and applied a cold compress on his head for 10 minutes, looked for visible signs of injury and there were none. After this he went about his day like any normal toddler spending Christmas with family, playing games and running about with his cousins. He was then sick that night however he had eaten allsorts of things and actually had a really hectic day. He was then fine the next day.

Saturday the 28th December he was sick again and started to complain of head ache we then took him to hospital to be checked They did his observations. They then tested him for flu which was negative but was told to keep him topped up with neurofen, told us it was viral and to go home! So we went home.

Our little boy then continued to complain of headache which we managed with nurofen as told by the doctors. He didn’t carry on being sick.

Fast forward to Tuesday 14th January Noah went to Nursery were his dad got a call as the staff where concerned that Noah didn’t appear himself. He was very upset throughout the morning, had a nap in the morning and had loss of appetite. He wasn’t joining in and was laying on the floor with his head in his arms. Noah’s dad went to pick him up, and as he greeted him, Noah was sick. I then phoned our GP who I spoke to a doctor and they told us to send him to our

A & E.

We saw a nurse, we described all of his symptoms and our previous visits and how concerned we were with Noah and his ‘illness’. She stated he had a viral infection and was not concerned for his head and to go home. They decided that a CT scan was not worth the stress of putting a 3 year old under general anaesthetic. This was the 2nd visit with the same symptoms and no-one was concerned about his head. So we trusted the professionals and we went home!

After a couple of days Noah still didn’t appear himself. Waking up at night with headache, complaining of feeling sick and being very sweaty. On the Saturday we were doing a painting activity and he could not see to pick up his paintbrush. We agreed we needed a 2nd opinion.

So we took him to a different hospital. We spoke to the doctor in A&E who understood our concerns and decided to admit us onto a ward. We then were told we would be getting a CT scan. He did not need to put to sleep as the previous hospital had stated and it would take no more than 10 minutes.

We had the scan on Monday 20th January and we were told the devastating news that our beautiful little boy had a brain tumour and we would be going to Leeds general infirmary. The bump that had happened on the 26th December was nothing to do with Noah complaining of headache and sickness, it was a brain tumour. A brain tumour that could have been diagnosed on the 14th, had we had a CT scan.

Noah has now been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and will be undergoing 6 months of intense chemotherapy at the age of 3. Also on top of this, due to where the tumour was located, he has devastatingly lost his vision and has been registered as severely vision impaired.

Every day we have is a challenge, we are working with physios and the occupational therapists as Noah is petrified to move anywhere on his own, as his world has gone into darkness and he now has to navigate life in darkness. He will not walk unaided at the moment and prefers to be carried when going a short distance and He also now owns his own wheelchair.

So far Noah has had multiple procedures, lumbar punctures, biopsies, blood transfusions to name a few all at the age of 3.

He is currently completing round 3 of 6 rounds of chemotherapy and we have been by his side every day, 24/7, as he is frightened to be around people without us. He has lost trust in people and struggles to allow people in his space and near him.

Candlelighters have been amazing for our emotional support along with our social worker from young lives vs cancer ensuring we can get the help we need to be great parents to

All of our lives have drastically changed, due to Noah’s treatment and loss of sight he now needs round the clock care, we will be looking to move house in the next couple of months so we have the right space for Noah to live safely and as comfortably as we can make it, as our current house cannot be adapted to his needs permanently.

We need to be able to build Noah’s confidence with us and with the world he now lives in.

In order to make our home, a home that is safe for Noah we will require adaptations done to the house and unfortunately not everything is funded.

We are asking for any small donation to help Noah live his life the best he possibly can.

We want our little boy to be safe, comfortable and to be able to live life to the fullest. Please help if you can, our family really appreciates anything!

Thank you for taking the time to read our story.