Just days after the UK was plunged into its first lockdown, little Aaron Wharton started showing worrying signs of ill-health. After periods of frequent vomiting, as well as difficulty with coordination, his parents took him to hospital where an MRI scan found a significant growth on the back of his head.
He was then referred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool for tests where it was discovered that, at the age of just four, he was living with a grade three brain tumour. "They confirmed that Aaron would need an operation," recalled his devastated mum Nicola, 37. "Within 48 hours of learning that he had a tumour, he was on the operating table", she added.
Aaron, from Buckley, Flintshire, underwent a 10-hour surgery to remove the tumour. Afterwards, he lost the ability to speak, eat and swallow due to build-up of fluid on the brain, and the family endured multiple prolonged visits to hospital.
