Diagnosis

At the end of October 2005 William had been complaining of headaches and feeling nauseous. Also, he had been experiencing dizziness. Within a day or two William was being sick in the mornings. This was very bad news. I took William to the doctor and explained his symptoms. The doctor prescribed antibiotics for an inner ear infection. We went home. However, I was still worried it was something more serious but you tend to believe the doctor and also you hope that they are right. After all William did not have any difficulty with muscle co-ordination (one of the symptoms of a brain tumour). His vision was fine. In fact an eye test in September showed no abnormalities. The symptoms William had could easily be caused by an inner ear infection.

A week later on the 9th November, William was still being sick, the antibiotics were not working. William became so dehydrated that he started to become confused. We telephoned the doctor for advice and we were told to take him straight to hospital. It would be quicker than waiting for an ambulance. Once there, William saw numerous doctors and paediatricians. Many neurological tests were carried out and he was given fluids by drip. William started to feel much better. The doctors came to the conclusion that as there was nothing neurological to suggest otherwise that William did indeed have an inner ear infection and was discharged.

Within a few days William’s constant sickness made him dehydrated again and he started having muscle spasms. I was terrified of what was happening to my son and called an ambulance. By the time the paramedics arrived I had managed to get William to take enough fluids to stop the muscle spasms in his arms and legs. The paramedics checked William over. They did not think he needed admission to hospital but advised me to call again if he became worse. William carried on being sick and in desperation I took him to my local hospital. The nurse and doctor could see he needed urgent admission to hospital. William was going into spasm again and was very ill. The wait for an ambulance seemed to take forever even though I was told he was a priority case. Once at William Harvey Hospital William was put on a drip to re-hydrate him. Again many tests were carried out. First he had a CAT scan, this involved lying still on a bed for twenty minutes while a large polo shaped machine surrounding William took x-rays of his head. The results were clear and I was so relieved. However, the doctors were still worried and William’s own GP expressed concern and wanted further tests. William then had an MRI. This took much longer than the CAT scan and was much noisier but it involved a similar procedure of lying on a bed. The bed then moves through the polo shaped machinery. This time magnetic reasoning is used and this results in a much clearer 3-D image. Afterwards we returned to William’s room. A few minutes later I was asked to accompany a doctor and nurse to a quiet room where we could talk. My heart sank. I did not want to hear this news. The doctor explained that something had shown up on the scan. It was a tumour.

From then on it was a case of getting William to another hospital for immediate surgery and further tests. The nursing staff were doing their best to find a place for William either at Great Ormond Street or Kings College Hospital in London. But it was a case of waiting for a bed. The following day a bed had been found at King’s and we arrived on the ward at midnight on 22nd November. The next day we saw doctors and a consultant. William had to have another MRI. As medulloblastoma is known to be very aggressive it often spreads to the spine. The doctor reassured us that it was unlikely. However, more bad news was to come. After the scan we waited outside the room for a porter to wheel William on his bed back to the ward. The staff were very quiet and the look on their faces told me that this was getting more and more serious. Waiting to be told the results seemed a very long time. I was taken to a room along with members of my family to be told that the cancer had indeed spread to his spine. The neurosurgeon showed us the results on the computer. Not only was there a large tumour on his spine but also seedlings of cancer cells throughout his spine and meninges (a layer covering the brain). The cancer had spread through the cerebrospinal fluid throughout his central nervous system. This was the worst possible news. Nonetheless, the neurosurgeon was optimistic that William had a small chance of being cured and a significant chance of remission. This gave us hope. The neurosurgeon explained to William what he would have to do to remove the tumour.

On the 29th November William was taken down to the theatre for his operation.