A Carrickfergus dad has urged parents to be aware of some of the tell-tale signs of leukaemia for children after his six-year-old son was diagnosed.
Justin Willis said his son Ollie was football mad and when he first started picking up bruises in May, he and Ollie's mother assumed it was from playing so much.
"But then he started getting them up round his back and chest and under his eye," Justin told Belfast Live.
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"His mum phoned the midwife that delivered Ollie and she said to get him to the Royal ASAP.
"So we took him up and within a couple of hours of blood tests, they were able to say they were 80% sure it was some type of leukaemia.
"Within a few days we had it confirmed that it was acute myeloid leukaemia.
"We have to go through maybe 6-9 months of intensive chemotherapy to try and cure this and that's the story so far, he's just finished his first round of chemo."
Justin said it hadn't really sunk in that Ollie was unwell because he has continued to be really positive and in good spirits despite the intensive treatment process.
He is currently in the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children while he recovers.
"It seems to be doing the job at the minute - he's still active even though he has his wee down days where he'll sleep and that," said Justin.
"He's getting platelet and blood transfusions and we had hoped to get him out for a few days there.
"But because his immune system is very low at the minute they can't take the risk of letting him out in case he gets an infection or that.
"So they're going to keep him in and maybe start another round of chemo around the start of July - we don't know though, we'll find out at the end of the month when they do another lumbar puncture and check his bone marrow again.
"In the worst case scenario, we'd have to go across the water and look at a bone marrow transplant, but that's the worst case scenario.
"We're hoping it's not going to come to that and the chemo blasts it - they've given us a 70-80% chance that this cures it completely, so we're just hoping and praying."
His devoted parents are managing their time around making sure that Ollie has at least one of them there at times while he recuperates.
Justin said he wanted to get the word out for other parents so that they knew what to look out for in their own kids in terms of leukaemia.
"The weekend before we took him in to hospital, he played four games of football from Thursday to Sunday, and the doctor couldn't believe that, they were asking where he got the energy from," he added.
"But Ollie was still full of energy even after he finished his match - the only other symptom was a slight wee bit of weight loss but I just thought because he was so active it was likely that.
"I would just say to other parents that if you notice big bruises or if they're bruising easily then maybe get it checked out, as we've no family history of this or anything."
Ollie's love for football has led to the local and wider football family rallying around him, with Crusaders visiting him in hospital with the Irish Cup.
The young boy plays for the Carrick Rangers Academy and his dad said they had been doing so much for him.
The Rangers manager has also been in touch via phone to say they'll have Ollie over to Ibrox for a game next season if he's well enough.
Ollie is a Leeds United fan and his dad knows one of the players there so there has been contact made there too.
"He's just always smiling and he hasn't complained once," Justin said.
"For us it maybe hasn't properly sunk in yet, the reality hasn't hit home just because he's doing so well, that might change if he gets more sick.
"We're just taking it day by day and staying positive for him.
"Hopefully after the second round of chemo, it'll be easier to have him home from the hospital, the first round just means he might have to stay in for up to four weeks."
Ollie had been due to visit Disneyland this Christmas but that trip has been cancelled due to his diagnosis and treatment.
Justin's cousin Jeanna, has organised a fundraiser involving the local fire station in Carrickfergus, where a crew will take part in the 'Storm the Castle' 10k event in August in full firefighting gear to raise funds for Ollie and his family.
A local club Barn United are also holding fundraising initiative's under the banner of #OlliesAmberArmy with both those events taking place in August.
If you'd like to find out more about the fundraising efforts, the information can be found here.
