January 5th 2024.
Victoria and Daniel's world changed when their son Thomas was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma in August 2021. Before that, Victoria had noticed a swollen tummy and had raised her concerns with her GP, but her worries were brushed off. It was only after Thomas got sick and developed a fever one Saturday morning that he was rushed to A&E and the family was given the heartbreaking news.
Everything changed in that moment. They’d found a very large tumour on his liver, and the couple feared their little boy may need a liver transplant. But after Thomas' fourth round of chemotherapy, an MRI showed that the treatment had successfully shrunk the cancer.
Surrounded by towering machines beeping all around him, Thomas was undergoing chemotherapy and taking a medicine called sodium thiosulfate to try to prevent hearing loss. But the toddler would throw up instantly the moment they hooked him up to it. It was an awful sight for his parents to witness.
As Thomas's treatment continued, his family discovered a new problem: money. Fuel costs, parking, food, and new clothes for Thomas all added up. Victoria was offered paid leave by the NHS from her job at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester, but Daniel, a self-employed construction worker, didn’t have the same financial support.
That was when the family was introduced to a social worker called Clare from the charity Young Lives Vs Cancer. She would always check in to make sure they were coping financially. The week before they first went to King’s Hospital in London for Thomas's surgery, Clare called and said the charity could give them a grant to cover travel costs. This was a huge relief for the family and helped them get through Thomas' treatment.
What was meant to be a dark day in the hospital turned into a moment of joy when, surrounded by his toy lion Olly the Brave, Victoria and Daniel became engaged during Thomas' treatment. Victoria says, “It’s a happy memory in the midst of a horrible time.” It was a reminder that, despite the pain and the struggles, there was always hope.
Victoria and Daniel Andrews were surrounded by towering machines beeping all around them as their one-year-old son Thomas Adams gripped his beloved toy lion, Olly the Brave. They were in Southampton Hospital, where Thomas was receiving his first round of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a cancer that forms in the liver tissues.
Victoria felt an overwhelming wave of guilt at the thought of having to let her little boy be 'poisoned' in order to save his life. She remembers how Thomas would throw up instantly the moment they hooked him up to the sodium thiosulfate, a medicine that would prevent hearing loss as a result of the chemo.
It had all started a few months back when Victoria noticed a swollen tummy on her son, but her concerns were dismissed by her GP. It was after Thomas had a fever one Saturday morning that he was rushed to A&E in Chichester. It was then that the alarm bells rang for one nurse on the ward, and Thomas was taken to the pediatric ward for further tests and scans. It was here that Victoria and Daniel were told the devastating news that their son had cancer.
The tumour on Thomas’s liver was so large that a potential transplant was discussed, and the family feared the worst. However, after the fourth round of chemotherapy, an MRI showed that the treatment had successfully shrunk the cancer.
The family were then faced with another challenge - money. Victoria was offered paid leave from her job at St Richard’s Hospital, but Daniel, who was self-employed, had to put down tools to care for Thomas. This meant that costs quickly added up, from new clothes to nappies and fuel costs.
Just when things were starting to look bleak, they were introduced to Clare, a social worker from the charity Young Lives Vs Cancer. She was a ray of light in a dark time, regularly checking in with the family and offering support, advice, and a grant to cover travel costs to London for Thomas’s surgery.
Victoria and Daniel are immensely grateful for the help they received from Clare and the charity throughout Thomas’s treatment, which thankfully ended with a successful outcome.
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