A BABY boy is battling blood cancer in hospital despite doctors telling his family it was “unlikely” he had leukaemia.

Amy Nunnery, 24, took her five-month-old son Fred to Basildon Hospital on December 27 with bronchiolitis.

She says that days later doctors told them that “leukaemia was no longer a concern” and told them to come back for a review.

However, the family claim that they were unable to book an appointment and two weeks later Fred was rushed to A&E where he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Get more great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day by signing up to our morning newsletter - don't miss out!

Hospital bosses at the Mid and South Essex Trust - which manages Basildon Hospital - insist they followed the correct procedure after doctors found it was “unlikely to be leukaemia.”

The family will spend the next six months at Great Ormond Street Hospital while Fred undergoes treatment.

Miss Nunnery said: “We are absolutely heartbroken, life seems incredibly unfair, but we are full of hope that our little one will pull through this.

“It’s a horrendous start to life - despite what he is going through all he knows is love and laughter and we hope it stays that way through the rest of his treatment.

“He had ten days’ worth of chemo and is now recovering; he also developed sepsis which he is also fighting.

“As the chemo destroys the bone marrow entirely, he has nothing left in his blood to fight infection.

READ MORE >>>

“We are on day 21 of this round and they expect him to start regaining strength around day 35, so we are praying he continues to stay stable.”

A fundraiser has now been launched to raise cash to support the family, from Stanford-le-Hope, while Fred undergoes treatment.

Dr David Walker, chief medical officer at Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, said: “We offer our full support to the family at this distressing time.

“We followed the correct procedure. Any suspected leukaemia in a child is always referred to a paediatric specialist hospital for review. The trust was advised by the specialist team that this was unlikely to be leukaemia and in line with advice, we asked the family to return for review.

“We are sorry that the family had difficulty contacting our blood test line on the phone. We have now put systems in place to ensure families are able to book urgent blood tests.”

More than £25,000 has been raised to help fund accommodation, travel and bills while Fred is in hospital.

 

We passionately believe in providing unrivalled quality journalism and value for money.

With a digital subscription, you can access our exclusive, insightful and trustworthy local news from just £1 a week.

If you are not already subscribing, sign up today to get instant access to our trusted local coverage - and an ad-light experience - check what package works best for you here.