A brave young boy who has battled a rare and aggressive cancer for the past three years is hoping to make special memories with his family after doctors said nothing more can be done to save him.
Dylan Reid, 14, was preparing for his first day at school after moving from Newcastle to Dovecot in November 2020 when he noticed a dark purple rash covering his chest, arms and legs and was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare form of cancer with a 65% five-year survival rate, according to Cancer Research UK.
The teenager needed surgery to remove a tumour, and underwent three intense rounds of chemotherapy to kill the cancerous cells affecting his blood. It was hoped a bone marrow transplant, carried out at Manchester Royal Infirmary in November 2022, would improve his condition - but tragically, the operation was not successful, and he was given the worst possible news.
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His mum Kelly Ann Moore, 37, said: "The doctors called us over from the Ronald McDonald House. They pulled us into a room with about nine nurses and told us there was nothing else they could do. There's no more treatment available. He's been through everything. He's not strong enough to fight his cancer any more."
Despite his devastating prognosis, Kelly Ann said Dylan remains cheerful - and has made only one humble request as the family begins to work on his bucket list.
She said: "The only thing he's asked for is to go to bingo, so we've arranged a big bingo night for him. And hopefully we'll be going back to Newcastle for a while - he wants to pass there. He wants to be around his family and his old friends.
"We don't know how long he has left. They're going to do some more tests to give us a rough idea. We don't know how quickly it will spread. The past three years have been absolutely miserable for Dylan. He's just not himself any more. He can't walk any more. It's heartbreaking."
The family has now set on a £1,000 fundraiser in the hope of treating Dylan - who is a huge fan of Marvel movies and rapper Nicki Minaj - to as many happy memories as possible before his condition deteriorates further. An all-night party at the Cosmic Ballroom on Stowell Street, Newcastle, on March 25 has been organised by his family to help boost the campaign.
Kelly Ann said: "We want to give him whatever he wants, just to make him comfortable, and do whatever he wants to do. He's always wanted to go to the Maldives, but that's not possible now. We can't go there. But we took him to Porthmadog (North Wales) and he loved it, and has always wanted to go back, and he absolutely loves Berwick (Northumberland)."
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