A young Scots boy has been left terrified he is dying and bleeding "for hours at a time" after a tumour started growing on his face. Five-year-old John Marshall, from Glasgow, first went to his GP in August after his mum Sheryl noticed the red lump near his temple, which was diagnosed as a granuloma, a type of non-cancerous tumour.
But three months on, John, who has autism, is still suffering as the lump has grown larger and gushes with blood up to six times a day. It has also become infected twice, with John given courses of antibiotics. He has had appointments with dermatologists and plastic surgeons at the Royal Children's Hospital in Glasgow, but has not yet had the tumour removed after a series of hold-ups and cancellations.
Mum Sheryl, 34, told the Record: "The lump keeps getting bigger and is bleeding every single day, for hours.
"We were in A&E twice because we couldn't stop it. They had to use an adrenalin swab to stop it.
"It's terrifying, it just starts pouring down his face, and keeps pouring.
"He screams the place down when it happens and that's often through the night too.
"John's not sleeping due to this. He has autism and he just doesn't understand, he keeps coming through to our room and asking if he's going to die.
"He must be sitting thinking about it in his bed. It’s just awful."
John, who started at Thornliebank Primary School in the summer, has missed a lot of class time and the youngster's dad, William, 48, has had to take time off work as a delivery driver to take him to appointments, while Sheryl has also had to cancel shifts at the rugby club she works at.
He is now set to have surgery on Monday, October 10 and his parents hope it will give their young son some peace of mind.
Sheryl added: "We're just at breaking point now, constantly stressed and upset. John's just a wee boy so think what it must be like for him."
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We would like to apologise to the Marshall family for the wait they have experienced and for any distress this has caused. Our staff are working extremely hard at a time of considerable pressure to provide the highest standard of care to our patients and are continuing to prioritise urgent and emergency care.
"Efforts are being made to increase clinic and theatre capacity, reduce waiting times and support patients to be seen as quickly as possible and we can confirm that this patient’s procedure has been scheduled to take place early in the coming week."
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