A Gateshead mum has hailed the "phenomenal" staff of the Great North Children's hospital after her son got the all clear from a rare form of cancer of Friday afternoon.
Six-year-old Leland was diagnosed with MDS cancer, a blood cancer that can turn into leukaemia, in September 2022. He has been through an extensive treatment programme including chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, which saw him in isolation in his own room at the Great North Children's Hospital for four months before he was able to return home on Friday.
Leland's mum Sarah has spoken of her relief to have her son back home, as well as praising the doctors, nurses and specialist staff who supported Leland on his journey. She told ChronicleLive: "It's been a long, hard journey to get to this point.
"It's been very emotional and overwhelming but there's a sense of relief that he's been given the all clear from his cancer. You sit in that room, isolated, and every little noise, every little beep of a buzzer makes you panic.
"But the staff at the RVI and particularly ward three, the bone marrow ward, have been phenomenal. They come in, they put you at ease, they explain everything to you fully.
"They're specialists in their field and they're able to explain every little step to you quite fully which has been a massive help because as a parent you have a thousand questions. You just want to know that your child is on the right path."
Sarah says that she has been "on autopilot" during Leland's treatment, three months of which she was unable to give him a hug as he was in so much pain. She continued: "You don't get a chance to sit and evaluate things when you're in a hospital.
"It's not until you come away and you're able to take that breath that you realise what a journey he's been on and obviously what you, as a parent, have been on."
Going into the hospital was a big adjustment for Leland too. Sarah continued: "It's been hard for him because he was a child who was still playing football and going to school about two weeks before he was due to go in for his transplant, so this was very alien to him.
"He wasn't allowed visitors so he couldn't socialise with other children, other adults. He was in pain a lot and was really angry at everybody because he couldn't understand how we'd brought him into hospital to get better but he felt so much worse.
"He's gone through a lot, but every single one of those nurses has been able to relate to Leland and make his journey less traumatic. He's cried with them, he's even screamed at them, but he absolutely loves them."
As well as doctors and nurses, Leland has had physiotherapy on the ward as some of his treatment affected his ability to walk, whilst he also had visits from a psychologist who helped him to process his feelings around the situation, both funded by the Anthony Nolan Foundation. Sarah continued: "There are some fantastic charities linked to the ward who don't get enough recognition for what they do for these children.
"If it wasn't for them, there wouldn't be the research, the tools or the equipment for the kids to play with or the people to come in. Without them, it would have been a very boring, much harder and more monotonous journey."
Though Leland is over arguably the hardest part of his journey, he is not yet at the end of it, but is well on the road to recovery. He still has visits to the hospital every other day to monitor his cell count and how his immune system is working, and it is expected to be between six and 12 months before he can go back to school.
Sarah added: "It's like covid rules again for Leland as any infection could jeopardise his transplant and send him back into hospital. Unfortunately, we've seen children where it's failed or who have passed away and the last thing I want to do is put Leland in any compromising situation that could cause an infection."
For now, Sarah is just happy to have her son back home and she says he has loved every minute of being back in his own bed and playing with his own toys. And she finished with a thank you to an unlikely protagonist in the story, Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds.
Reynolds shared Leland's story after he was a mascot when Blyth Spartans played Wrexham, the football team he co-owns with Rob McElhenney.
Sarah finished: "All through Leland's journey Ryan has been in touch with us as a family, messaging Leland to ask how he is or sending him little videos. He's been a massive, massive supporter trying to get people to register not just in the UK but all over the world which is phenomenal.
"What he's done by raising awareness not just for Leland's story but for other children in the same predicament, it's just been phenomenal. But it's not just Ryan Reynolds, it's the other Wrexham owner Rob (McElhenney) and all the Wrexham fans, who have just been amazing to Leland, sending him messages or videos or just wishing him good luck all the ay through his journey.
"For a group of fans who are thousands of miles away from Leland and only got to meet him twice, I just think it's amazing how much people can get behind a cause like this."
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