A two-year-old boy had to learn to walk again after a rare cancer caused him to lose muscle mass in his legs.
Max Kirk, 2, was diagnosed with a rare cancer called bilateral Wilms tumours on his second birthday in December 2021. Since then he has undergone extensive treatment at Alder Hey Children's Hospital including chemotherapy.
Max, from Tarvin, had an adverse reaction to the chemotherapy which impacted his liver function, meaning he was laid up for three weeks. This resulted in him having to learn to walk again earlier this year due to losing muscle mass in his legs.
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On March 17 Max underwent nine hours of surgery at Alder Hey to remove the cancerous tumours, as well as one kidney and two-thirds of the other. He is now back home and going to Clatterbridge Hospital every day for radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment.
Max’s mum Sara told Cheshire Live: “It’s been a bit of a turbulent few months but we are doing okay at the moment. Max is home and we are back and to from the hospital quite a bit for appointments and treatment.
"He is coping with it remarkably well, to be honest. He has his good weeks and not so good weeks. It’s a bit up and down.
“He is in the middle of a 14 day stint of radiotherapy at the moment. That’s starting to make him feel a bit rotten, but he’s doing well on the whole.
"I don’t know where to start in terms of the support Alder Hey have given us. They have supported us right from the get go. They have done wonders for him and we can’t thank them enough."
Members of Deeside Ramblers Hockey Club, where Max's dad Andy has been a member since he was a child, are undertaking a dawn until dusk match to raise funds for the hospital and the club. Andy said: “I am excited to be part of this event that is raising money for two important causes in my life. One of them from as soon as I could pick up a stick and the other being Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.”
All proceeds from the hockey match, which takes place from 5am-9pm on Saturday, May 21, will be split between Alder Hey Children’s Hospital’s oncology unit and the hockey club. Deeside Ramblers community officer Beth Alvey said: “We were planning a fundraising day towards our new pitch floodlights when we heard about Max and everything he and his parents are going through.
“We pride ourselves on being a family hockey club and just wanted to do something to help and show our support to friends who have been part of our club for years, so we have decided to donate half of the money we raise from the game to Alder Hey to support the incredible things they do there.
"This is going to be a single, non-stop game from dawn to dusk and we will have players of all ages playing throughout the day, including several generations from the same families.”
You can support the fundraiser here.
