A concerned mum who spotted a strange rash all over her six-year-old son's body on Christmas Day was later told it was cancer.
Danielle Everson told how her son Kian was "really poorly" in the lead up to Christmas but she initially put it down to his school friends having colds and Covid.
But she turned to Google after noticing her son had little purple pinprick marks on his body and saw that it could be a sign of leukaemia, reports Wales Online.
The mum, from Blackwood, Wales, said: "Kian was really poorly and it was in December. I put it down to his friends at school having Covid and colds going around.
"Kian didn’t have Covid at the time but he had a cold and a cough.
“He was awfully pale but because he’d been kickboxing with his twin brother, I just thought it was probably because the boys were being a bit rough with him.
“It was only when I noticed he had little purple pin-prick marks over him when I thought I needed help."
Danielle phoned a relative and said "I think Kian has cancer" but was told "not to believe everything you read on Google."
"He was so fatigued. He had no energy and kept going back to bed," Danielle said.
With GP surgeries closed over Christmas, she decided to call 111 and take him to hospital.
Within two hours, the youngster was diagnosed with leukaemia and he is now on his fourth week of chemotherapy.
Doctors at Grange Hospital confirmed that Kian had early stage acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and he has had to battle his symptoms while also suffering from Covid.
Danielle said she was not surprised by her son's diagnosis after Googling his symptoms and was praised by hospital staff for spotting the signs early and acting fast.
She said: “I wasn’t shocked with the news. It’s mother’s instinct, isn’t it? Something kicked in.
"Of course it’s very sad news and not what we wanted to hear but we’re pleased it’s been caught early and we are staying positive.”
After recovering from Covid, Kian can now begin treatment again at the Noah’s Ark children’s hospital in Cardiff.
“Considering everything he is going through, he is doing amazingly. He has started to lose his hair and he is sore often," Danielle said.
"We are taking it step by step and hoping the chemo does its job and he reacts well to it.
“He’ll be having chemo for three years so it’s a long process. It’s been stressful.
"Kian’s twin brother Kelan doesn’t really understand why we are in hospital so often with him. It’s a lot to take in.”
Danielle also praised the "astonishing" response from her community in Blackwood.
She added: “We don’t rely on charity funding but we just want to give back to charities helping Kian.
“There are so many poorly children there and there is so much fantastic work being done. We want to use this moment for something good to give back to those charities.”
Danielle is taking part in charity walks and has asked Kian's school to do an orange clothes day on the last day of term where the children can take in £1 and dress up.
A printing and embroidery company is also making "Kian’s Army" clothing with £2 from every purchase being donated.
“I’m astonished by everything that is going on for him. It’s really overwhelming and we can’t thank everyone enough.
Danielle added: “We are not sure whether Kian’s treatment will work but at the moment Kian has a strong chance of coming through it. We’re a bit unsure but we have lots of hope.”
