William’s story

  William’s story began almost eleven years ago when he arrived on his due date 28th December 1995. He was a very lively and bright toddler, eager to learn. He learnt his alphabet and numbers 1-20 at just two years old by reading alphabet and number books chosen by himself. Living with myself and my mother he became very close to his Grandma, choosing a book and snuggling up to her even when he was too big to fit comfortably in the chair with her. He spent many a happy time finding items of clothing to put on Grandma’s head, the sillier the better!

William was a very active child and enjoyed swimming lessons and the gym whilst still a toddler, receiving many certificates along the way. As William grew up he would channel his energy into playing football at every opportunity. Many times we would walk to the nearby park to kick a ball around and not leaving until he had scored ‘just one more goal’ for the umpteenth time! I used to take William along to St Paul’s Toddler group and eventually I took over the running of the group. It was very popular and I used to arrange parties and a Summer outing each year. William loved to help with the ideas for the craft session and would help me organise the toys.
William showed a great maturity when his beloved Grandma died even finding the strength to read a prayer at her funeral.

William looked forward to starting school and did extremely well. He had a thirst for knowledge that would last even throughout his illness. He was very proud (as was mum) when he made the school football team. It was William’s idea to set up football sessions at the leisure centre on a Sunday with his school friends. This proved very popular and involved his uncle as referee. The children enjoyed it and also the parents watching from the viewing area.

William made close friends at school and these friends continued to see William during the time he was ill. William became a member of the 13th Dover (St Paul’s) Cubs and worked hard to gain badges. He even won his race in a Cubs swimming gala just a week or two before becoming ill. William continued to be very active and his after school sessions included two football training sessions, five a side, four tennis sessions, a cricket lesson and a swimming lesson each week.

It was after a tennis lesson that William complained of a bad headache. Over the next few days he started being sick in the mornings and felt dizzy. The doctor thought he had an ear infection and put him on antibiotics but the sickness continued. William was admitted to William Harvey suffering from dehydration due to the sickness. Again it was felt he had a serious ear infection and was discharged. A few days later William was very poorly and was taken to William Harvey by Ambulance. Many tests were carried out including an MRI scan and finally I was told the terrible news, William had a brain tumour, Medulloblastoma and would need an immediate operation. A bed was found at Kings College hospital in London and within a week the tumour had been removed during an eleven hour operation. 95% of the tumour was removed but William’s mobility had been affected. This was such a hard thing for William to cope with but cope with it he did. Further bad news was to follow. Another scan showed the disease had spread to William’s Spine. A large tumour was found as well as many seedlings throughout his spine and brain. A biopsy of the tumour also showed it was the most aggressive type. It was unbelievable news and left us all devastated. We were told that William could have radiotherapy but the surgeon felt it would not work and that William would not survive for much longer.

We were introduced to a consultant who worked at the Royal Marsden in Sutton. He was optimistic that William could indeed be helped by radiotherapy and chemotherapy and had a 30-50% chance of getting through it. This gave us the hope we needed. William was due to take part in a clinical trial for the radiotherapy but the disease was progressing fast and a course of chemotherapy had to be given before radiotherapy which meant that William could not take part in the trial. William was very ill over Christmas 2005 while undergoing chemotherapy but managed to open some presents. Three days later on his birthday he was transferred to William Harvey. It had been snowing heavily and one lane of the M20 was closed due to the snow. William was later transferred back to the Royal Marsden for six weeks of radiotherapy. William had to have a mask made for his face before radiotherapy could begin, it was an unpleasant experience having plaster of paris applied to the whole face and then being peeled off. We moved into a flat owned by the Marsden and took William each day for his radiotherapy. William started to improve but the sickness took its toll and he lost his appetite. He also lost his beautiful auburn hair. William coped well with the radiotherapy and it certainly did not stop him from playing on his play station. He also continued to enjoy his favourite TV programmes especially Little Britain and following his favourite football team Chelsea.

Whilst at the Marsden he loved to attend the schoolroom and if that was closed then the playroom where a play specialist would assist William in making some wonderful creations. Despite the radical treatment William was receiving he remained as active as he could be both mentally and physically. Eager to participate in physiotherapy sessions to help him regain his balance and later his walking. After the radiotherapy had finished we returned home after being away for four months. It seemed strange to be home at first but it was not long before William was strong enough to walk upstairs to his bedroom. We had achieved some sort of normality and I returned to work with the wonderful help from my Sister in law who looked after William for me whilst I was at work. William loved to be back amongst his favourite toys including his massive collection of wrestler figures. He was also able to continue his education with assistance from a home tutor. William’s friends came to see him regularly and he greatly enjoyed playing on the play station with them or table football, the latter being a particular skill of William’s proving hard for anyone to beat him!

Ten months of chemotherapy was to follow involving visiting the Royal Marsden once every six weeks with further treatment carried out by Community nurses at home. Again the chemotherapy made William very sick leaving him with no appetite. He was also very tired. But William’s mobility was improving all the time and MRI scans were very encouraging, everything was going according to plan.

Then halfway through William’s course of chemotherapy he did not seem to recover as well as usual and he had to go to William Harvey because of sickness and dehydration. It was then felt William had an infection and many tests were carried out to find the source of the infection but nothing was found and he was then transferred to the paediatric infection control ward at St Georges in Tooting. Many more scans and blood tests were carried out before we were informed that it was likely he had an infection in his liver. We also found out that the cancer had spread to his bones and bone marrow. We were told that this was a very rare occurrence as usually it does not spread further than the brain and spine. We were told that William had to start on a different chemotherapy protocol. Despite all the invasive treatment he had he remained polite and uncomplaining always saying please and thank you to the nurses. Sadly William started to deteriorate and was taken to Paediatric intensive care. Finally his body could no longer cope and he passed away on the 20th October with all his family with him. Two days before he died he was sitting in a chair reading his football magazine and was looking forward to starting yet another football sticker collection. He was also still able to smile. At the end it all happened so suddenly and was unexpected. It was a great shock to us all.

Before all this William had been responding so well to his treatment and we all felt he had a future which makes it harder to understand and come to terms with. We may never come to terms with it but one thing no one will ever forget who knew William was his sheer courage and bravery throughout. He never lost his sense of humour and that gave us, his family, the strength to carry on.

One thing we can be sure of is that William is now in heaven being looked after by his grandparents and playing football to his hearts content!