A Durham mum has opened up about her son's courageous brain tumour battle as she takes on a month-long charity challenge.
Aston Sullivan from Chester-le-Street has spent years in and out of hospital as he battles a low-grade glioma brain tumour.
The brave 11-year-old was diagnosed with the condition in 2013 after undergoing an emergency MRI scan at the University Hospital of North Durham.
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But his worried parents, Karen Bush and Thomas Sullivan, first noticed something was wrong when Aston was just nine months old.
Mum-of-three Karen, 39, said: "He wasn’t hitting the milestones like his siblings did.
"He took a long time to sit and stand up and he was wobbly on his feet.
“His neck was tilted to one side, but the health visitor fobbed us off.
“Then, in November 2012, Aston was crying all through the night and he was being sick so we took him to Chester-le-Street Hospital but the doctors didn’t know what was wrong.”
Just months later, in January 2013, Aston's parents took him to hospital again after he started being sick and an MRI scan revealed he had a brain tumour.
Aston was immediately taken to Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle where surgeons removed 90% of the tumour but were unable to take a small amount of residue which was attached to the brainstem.
Mum Karen said: “ The fluid on Aston’s brain was causing so much pressure and he was in pain.
“I felt angry and let down by our doctors because he ticked all the boxes for symptoms for brain tumours."
In August 2018, a scan revealed the tumour had grown back so Aston underwent surgery again.
Two years later, in October 2020, a routine scan showed the tumour had once again returned.
This time, the family was advised against Aston undergoing surgery due to the direction it was growing.
Instead, the brave little boy underwent a year of chemotherapy, starting on January 15, 2021.
However, the tumour has returned and now Aston's family are waiting to find out what the next course of treatment will be.
Karen said: “Aston did so well with the chemotherapy and he’s doing great.
"He started secondary school in September and he’s a changed boy. It’s been the making of him.
“Unfortunately, Aston’s latest scan has revealed the tumour has grown again.
"We have to wait to find out the next step, but it’s either going to be a new drug trial, or proton beam therapy, which means we will have to move to Manchester for six weeks.”
Mum Karon is now taking on the challenge of walking 10,000 steps every day in February to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.
The charity funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK.
“It’s so important for me to raise money for Brain Tumour Research so that more can be known about the tumours and their causes," Karen said.
"I didn’t recognise the symptoms at first and Aston’s GPs didn’t either.
“It’s vital that more research can be done into this devastating disease.”
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We’re really grateful to Karen for taking on this challenge for us as it’s only with the support of people like her that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients like Aston who are forced to fight this awful disease."
To donate to Karen’s 10,000 Steps a Day fundraiser visit: www.facebook.com/donate/316601681363423
