TAKING your child swimming for the first time can be nerve-racking, but Deborah Rowe’s son Jonah simply loved it. He was happily splashing about in the water and simply couldn’t wait to go again.
However, days later, the two-year-old was “screaming in pain”. Deborah assumed he’d pulled a muscle in the water and doctors sent him home with ibuprofen for “growing pains”, but it was actually the first sign of a horror disease that could eventually kill him.
Deborah Rowe with her son Jonah, who went swimming for the first time in February[/caption]
The youngster was later diagnosed with a ‘high-risk’ cancer[/caption]
The mum is now warning families to take any unusual symptoms seriously before it’s too late.
The 46-year-old tells Sun Health: “I urge all parents not to ignore any signs, as it could be a matter of life or death.”
Deborah and Jonah, from Cornwall, went to their local swimming pool in February.
The youngster couldn’t get enough, and was so excited to go again.
But he was rushed to hospital just days later after he started complaining of tummy pain and began walking with a limp.
Deborah assumed he had pulled a muscle in the water, but was left in tears when doctors revealed the “horrifying” truth.
Now, she and her husband, Greg, also 46, have had to relocate 177 miles from Camborne to Bristol, leaving their four other kids behind, while the toddler undergoes treatment and surgery.
Deborah, a senior assistant technical officer, says: “I wanted to take Jonah swimming with the family, as I thought it’d be a nice activity for us all to do together.
“He seemed to really love it, splashing about with his little armbands on.
“When we left to go home, he couldn’t wait to go again.
“But later that week, he started to act strangely and began hobbling around.
“I thought he might have pulled a muscle when trying to swish his legs around. The actual reason, though, was horrifying.”
Deborah and Greg thought the seemingly minor injury would go away on its own.
But the situation only escalated, with Jonah not going to the toilet for four days and waking up every hour in “excruciating” pain.
“I took him to the hospital and they sent him home with ibuprofen, putting it down to growing pains,” the mum says.
“And as there were other children with the same symptoms, they suggested he may have a virus.
“Jonah didn’t have a temperature, though, and he hadn’t eaten.
“I knew something much worse was going on – this wasn’t like my little boy.”
Days after swimming, Jonah was ‘screaming in pain’[/caption]
Deborah, from Cornwall, with her husband Greg[/caption]
Later in February, he had a scan of his stomach and pelvis, which revealed lesions.
It turns out he has high-risk stage 4 neuroblastoma – cancer of the nerve tissue – and it’s unclear how much time he has left without treatment.
He’s recently had surgery, lasting seven hours, to remove part of a tumour that was wrapped around his aorta – the main blood vessel through which oxygen and nutrients travel from the heart to organs around the body.
Thankfully, it was a success. Now, Jonah is on intensive chemotherapy, but he still has a long way to go.
The cancer has spread to his skull, thighs and lower legs, as well as his spine. He’s also lost 90 per cent of his hair.
To help with mounting costs, a GoFundMe has been launched, raising more than £15,000 out of a target of £28,000 so far.
The most common symptoms of neuroblastoma
Neuroblastoma is a cancer that affects children – mostly under the age of five.
It starts in a type of nerve cell called a neuroblast, often in the stomach, but can spread to other parts of the body.
About 100 kids are diagnosed every year in the UK.
Symptoms can be vague, but sufferers might experience:
- A lump or swelling in the tummy
- Stomach pain
- Constipation
If the cancer has spread, people might also report:
- Tiredness
- A fever
- Loss of appetite
- Numbness or weakness
- Loss of movement in the lower part of the body
- Breathlessness
- Difficulty swallowing
- Bruising or bleeding
Doctors group patients according to their risk of the cancer coming back after treatment – low, intermediate and high.
There are also different stages depending on the size of the cancer and whether it has spread.
Stage 1 means the tumour is in one area of the body and can be completely removed with surgery.
Stage 2 is divided into 2A and 2B. In 2A, the tumour can’t be completely removed with surgery because of its size or position, but there are no cancer cells in any lymph nodes. In 2B, it may or may not be possible to remove the tumour, but it has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage 3 means the tumour can’t be completely removed with surgery and there is either a tumour on both sides of the body or there is a tumour on one side and lymph nodes containing cancer cells on the other.
Stage 4 neuroblastoma means the cancer has spread to parts of the body that are some distance from where it started.
About 70 per cent of children survive for five years or more after they are diagnosed.
Source: Cancer Research UK
Jonah is struggling with his new normal, which has left Deborah and Greg heartbroken.
His mum hopes to spread awareness for the signs of neuroblastoma to look out for, especially as children go back to school.
“It’s been absolutely devastating,” Deborah says.
“It’s something I still can’t get my head around now. Everything feels so surreal.
“Sometimes, I go to sleep and when I wake up, I forget where I am. And then reality hits.
“It’s impossible to live a normal life, as in the space of a few days, our whole world has been turned upside down.
We’re going to cherish every moment with Jonah, as we don’t know what’s around the corner
Deborah Rowe
“The swimming side of things is only a small minor connection to the bigger picture.
“He had no limp before we took him swimming; so this potentially saved his life.
“Parents, look out for night sweats, tummy pain and limps.
“This is an extremely hard type of cancer to diagnose because it imitates a lot of other childhood viruses and illnesses.
“I’d do anything to go back to our crazy house, the work stress, all of it.”
The cancer has spread to his skull, thighs and spine[/caption]
Jonah has lost 90 per cent of his hair[/caption]
‘We don’t know what’s around the corner,’ his mum says[/caption]
She adds: “It’s hard for Jonah when people visit and then leave again, as he doesn’t understand why.
“But he’s been so brave and manages to put on a smile everyday.
“I hope he can live a relatively normal life after this and that the cancer doesn’t come back.
“Nobody thought that a little bit of tummy pain and a limp would lead to all of this.
“I’d give up everything I’ve got in a heartbeat to keep my children safe and well.
“And we’re going to cherish every moment with Jonah, as we don’t know what’s around the corner.”