A mum was left devastated when she was told by doctors at Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Children that her son had cancer.
Victoria Macdonald initially thought Calum Ray, four, was struggling with the after effects of chickenpox when he complained about an aching body.
The 33-year-old was speechless when medical professionals told her that her child actually had a tumour near his kidney.
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The mother told Glasgow Live: "He caught chickenpox at the very start of January.
"They all eventually started to scab over and some went away but he still complained about a sore body."
Calum was referred to the local hospital when new symptoms started to appear. He refused to walk, he had night sweats and his temperature would go sky high.
Victoria explained: "The GP then referred us to our local hospital. When we took Calum there he was in an incredible amount of pain. He'd ask us to hold his neck, his stomach and back to help with the pain.
"We met with an orthopaedic doctor to find out if it was to do with his spine but he recommended an MRI to see what was happening.
"They found the tumour, which is above his adrenal gland. They told us to head to Glasgow straight away.
"The doctors did more tests, including a full body MRI and a bone marrow test. It took a week to find out the results then he was diagnosed on March 1 with neuroblastoma stagem, which is high risk.
"It's high risk because the cancer is likely to come back even with all the treatment. After the diagnosis he started chemo straight away.
"After the first cycle of chemo all the pain just seemed to go away. He has just finished cycle six and he has another two rounds.
"After that he needs to get surgery to remove the tumour if they can remove it, then he needs high dose chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant, which is when they can become incredibly unwell.
"The whole process will take 12 to 14 months."
Doctors broke the news to both Victoria and her partner, Andrew Ray, in front of Calum.
The parents' world collapsed in that moment and they weren't entirely sure how to react.
The teacher from Troon said: "I knew they were going to say something bad because they took us out the ward into a room.
"You don't expect it to be that. It was just a numb, heartbreaking feeling.
"We had Calum in the room with us because he was so unwell. He wouldn't want to be without us so we carried him through.
"We were watching him and he asked why we were crying and he said everything was ok.
"It is the worst thing I have ever been through."
Despite being given a diagnosis that every parent dreads, Calum has become something of a bright spark whenever he is in the ward.
Seeing the four-year-old stand up to the challenge has acted as a driving force for his mum and dad.
Victoria said: "He is amazing.
"Calum takes everything in his stride. He has never once questioned why he needs to go to hospital, he just gets on with it.
"He has just accepted that this is his life for now. Calum is so funny and he has charmed all the nurses and doctors, they all think he is adorable.
"He bounces up and down the ward. There is a wee playroom and he loves pretending to be a Pokemon.
"This round of chemo has effected him more but on the whole he is coping really well.
"He is so resilient and he is wanting to play all the time. It means for us that we have to keep it as normal as we can for him.
"When we are at home we still play and still do things like learning to ride a bike. He is so young so luckily he doesn't understand the severity, we've just said there are germs in his body that are playing hide and seek.
"It helps that he is determined and strong willed. He won't take anything lying down."
NHS staff have been on hand to ensure that Victoria, Andy and Calum receive all the support they need as the four-year-old continues to fight the cancer.
However, Victoria has one eye on the future and is currently raising funds for a clinical trial across the pond that could stop the cancer returning in the future
She said: "The team there are amazing.
"They are so good at explaining things to the children. We had the play specialist who had wee toys and there was one called chemo duck which they used to show how things work.
"They always say that they are here to support us as well as Calum. For blood transfusions one of the nurses told Calum it was strawberry jam so that's what we call it.
"When we ask for help they always try to explain it the best they can.
"The NHS treatment is gold standard.
"It really is excellent, everyone on the ward is amazing, we couldn't ask for any better treatment.
"But the problem is that the cancer comes back. The survival rate over a five-year period is 40 per cent. If the cancer comes back it drops even lower.
"So we found this cancer centre in New York and they specialise in neuroblastoma trials and they are trying to find away to stop it coming back.
"After Calum is completely finished treatment, as long as he is completely disease free, he can go straight over and take part. It is seven vaccines throughout the year and then check ups.
"We are just trying to raise money now. We've started early because it is such a huge amount.
"The target is £250,000 because we need to pay for hospital care, accommodation and flights. To say it in black and white we want to give him the best chance."
Since launching the Just Giving page on Wednesday, April 26, they have raised more than £33,000
The wave of kindness has left the family completely gobsmacked. Although they are currently going through the complete unthinkable, seeing the community come together and help their son has shown that there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
The 33-year-old said: "Going through this is horrendous and it's so hard to get through each day.
"But seeing the amount of people willing to offer their support has given me comfort to know how much people want to help, not even just financially.
"I have had so many messages from people who are offering to chat to me. There are so many members of the community organising fun days or sponsored events, I'm in total shock.
"I never expected to raise that much so fast. It brings a comfort to know that there are a lot of people who want Calum to get better.
"People are willing to give up time and energy to give him that extra chance which is amazing.
"There is someone at the nursery Calum gpes to who is planning a full event. He also goes to a singing and dancing class and the person who runs that is organising a full fundraising event and told us not to worry about doing anything.
"It means we can spend as much time with Calum as possible. It is all about being with him and spending quality time with him."
To donate to the fundraiser click here
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