An Edinburgh family were devastated after their son's headaches turned out to be a grade four brain tumour.
Rudi Abbot, now eight, was just six-years-old when he began to experience headaches and slightly blurry vision, with a host of doctors appointments ending in an MRI scan.
Diagnosed in August 2020, parents Coline and Ben were told that Rudi had a rare tumour in the centre of his brain, with treatment beginning almost immediately.
Just a week later, Rudi was taken in for major surgery to remove the tumour, before undergoing aggressive chemo and radiotherapy, as well a stint in Germany for proton therapy.
READ MORE - Edinburgh man dies after tragic fall from George IV Bridge as family informed
A "funny" and "kind" little boy, Rudi had been recovering since April 2021, however a recent MRI scan showed his tumour has returned, with his only options now being trials outside of the UK.
You can donate to Rudi's fundraiser here.
Desperate to have the funds ready, Rudi's family have launched a fundraiser for £250,000, in the hope they are prepared for the results of a biopsy which could allow them to seek further treatment.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Rudi's aunt, Catherine, 48, said:
"He the whole way through first lockdown he was complaining that things wee blurry when reading or watching things and having reoccurring sore heads
"They went to the doctors from around April until August and then when they went to the Sick Kids in August he had had one eye squinting and unable to focus and he felt quite strange on one side and had tremblings, he'd had a lot of sickness a lot out of nowhere.
"Then they got the MRI and found the tumour.
"I think because he'd been unwell for quite a long time we were all thinking there was maybe something not right but it was the start of Covid and there were things going around, you hope it's anything other than that though."
Going through his initial surgeries and treatments during strict Covid rules, only a few members of the family were able to see Rudi, with most unable to even enter the house.
Heading to Germany for treatment, Ben and Coline had taken Rudi and his four-year-old sister Iris, with the family only just making it there before travel rules tightened again.
Catherine added: "It was very restrictive, when he was here for chemo there was only two or three named people throughout chemo from January until April 2021.
"He did get home but each of the cycles was every four weeks, so he got home for the last week of each cycle. His wee sister saw him about four times in four months. It was very challenging and then even when he came home we still weren't allowed in each others houses so it was only those named people that could see him.
"He's still chatty and cracking jokes though, he's always trying to find a pun in everything. He's very kind and funny, he's always been funny, and to know Rudi is to love Rudi.
"Even his teachers and the school all love him, he's one of a kind and is one of those boys that always makes you laugh, he never lost that either even when he was going through all the intense chemotherapy."
After coming through the treatment, Rudi, one of four siblings, had been seeing clear scans every three months and had returned to school, however his most recent showed the growth had returned.
With the options available on the NHS now minimal, the family are hoping to raise £250,000 to hopefully allow them to undergo new treatments in the U.S as soon as they get the green light.
Now trying to prepare financially, the family have seen huge support in just a few days, with over £22,000 already raised on GoFundMe.
With even Rudi's classmates running a fundraising relay at Portobello Prom later this month (March 27), Catherine said they have been "overwhelmed" with support.
She added: "It was just this feb that showed the tumours have returned, his one before Christmas was fine. He had had clear scans but it's always a worry, once one is done you're so relieved but then you start worrying about the next one.
"He just had another surgery two weeks ago for a biopsy for one of the tumours, so although he's recovered well he's a bit fatigued."
