A ‘FUNNY and brave’ little boy has passed away just a year after receiving a shocking diagnosis.
Albie Bayliss-Watts was initially diagnosed with tonsillitis and tummy problems when he suffered a sudden seizure and began vomiting blood.
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But just weeks later, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor so rare it couldn’t be identified.
His death at just two years old left both his mothers heartbroken – and his rare cancer has yet to be identified.
Before October 2020, Albie was a “happy, healthy baby,” moms Lauren and Hayley shared on the blog for Brain Tumor Research.
After he suffered a sudden seizure, his worried mothers took him to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where doctors initially assumed the little one was suffering from tonsillitis which “caused him to convulse”.
O next That day, doctors told his parents that Albie likely suffered from a type of epilepsy and referred him to a neurologist.
Albie was due to see a consultant six weeks later when he started to feel ill.
Initially thinking it was caused by an insect, Lauren and Hayley were “very worried” when their baby started vomiting blood.
Back at the hospital, the mothers were reassured that an illness had likely caused bleeding in Albie’s stomach lining.
But despite being given fluids and tests appearing normal, the one-year-old continued to deteriorate.
At this point, doctors decided to examine Albie’s brain to explain his symptoms.
A CT scan and MRI revealed a mass the size of a tennis ball in the little one’s brain.
“The growth was causing so much pressure that within hours he underwent emergency brain surgery,” Lauren and Hayley wrote.
They faced a “horrible” 10-hour wait before being told the surgery had gone as planned as Albie’s surgeon managed to remove 99 per cent of his tumour.
“Happy and relieved”, the mothers were able to bring their son home just five days after the surgery.
“At just 18 months old, he was so strong and brave, it was incredible.
“We soon got our cheeky little man back and hoped to be out of danger, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”
‘THE UNSTOPPABLE CHILD’
Christmas 2020 was Albie’s second and last Christmas.
Just three weeks after surgery, on New Year’s Eve, the little one started vomiting blood again.
An emergency scan revealed that his tumor was already growing back and he would need to begin emergency chemotherapy immediately.
“His tumor didn’t yet have a name – all they knew was that it was an aggressive cancer and treatment needed to begin immediately,” the mothers shared. a fundraiser in Albie’s name.
Little “determined” Albie established a routine of six-day treatment cycles, followed by 21 days of rest.
“The side effects were brutal, but he got stronger with each round,” his moms shared.
“He ran around the ward, laughing, playing, making everyone smile and making us all so proud. We called him ‘the unstoppable kid’.”
The most common symptoms of a brain tumor
More than 12,000 Brits are diagnosed with a primary brain tumor every year – of which around half are cancerous – with 5,300 losing their lives.
The disease is the deadliest cancer in children and adults under 40, according to the Brain Tumor Charity.
Brain tumors reduce life expectancy by an average of 27 years, with just 12% of adults surviving five years after diagnosis.
There are two main types, with non-cancerous benign tumors growing more slowly and being less likely to return after treatment.
Cancerous malignant brain tumors can start in the brain or spread from other parts of the body and are more likely to return.
Brain tumors can cause headaches, seizures, nausea, vomiting and memory problems, according to the NHS.
They can also lead to changes in personality weakness or paralysis on one side of the problem and problems with speech or vision.
The nine most common symptoms are:
- Headaches
- Seizures
- Feeling sick
- Be sick
- Memory Problems
- Change in personality
- Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
- Vision problems
- Speech problems
If you are suffering from any of these symptoms, especially a headache that is different to the ones you normally experience, you should visit your family doctor.
Source: SNS
The little one turned two on May 18th and started an even higher dose of chemotherapy in July of that year, which left him sicker and with terrible side effects.
Albie returned home in August and appeared to be doing well, giving his mothers hope that he would make a full recovery.
But they were dealt a further blow in October 2021 when the scan showed the disease had spread to Albie’s cerebrospinal fluid and there were “areas of concern” in his spine.
O News it hit Hayley and Lauren “like a ton of bricks”.
The little one had an Ommaya reservoir installed in his head to administer chemotherapy directly into the brain fluid.
Doctors told the mothers it wouldn’t cure Albie of cancer, but they thought it would give the family more time.
After postponing their wedding twice due to the pandemic, Hayley and Lauren finally tied the knot, wanting to include their son in their special day.
We should be preparing his fifth birthday cake, not preparing to have more birthdays without him. No parent should have to go through this
Lauren Bayliss-Watts
On the last day of the couple’s honeymoon, Albie became very ill.
Tests revealed he had bleeding from a new brain tumor.
Three new tumors grew in just two weeks, all inoperable.
“There were no further treatment options available and we were completely distraught,” the mothers wrote.
‘PAIN NEVER ENDING’
Albie passed away on November 28, with Hayley and Lauren by his side, holding his hands and signaling to him.
“We can’t believe our beautiful, funny, brave baby is gone and accepting our loss is very difficult,” they wrote.
“During his short life, Albie touched the lives of so many people hearts and filled our world with nothing but pure joy.”
To this day, the baby’s rare tumor has not yet been identified.
Heartbroken, Albie’s parents channeled their grief into raising awareness about brain cancer and raising funds in their baby’s name.
They formed a fundraising group called “Albie and Beyond” for the Brain Tumor Research charity.
And Lauren, now a mother of twin girls, completed a 34km ultra-challenge on what would have been her son’s fifth birthday, Oxford Post Office reported, helping to raise around £3,200 for brain tumor research.
Lauren described the pain of losing Albie as “endless”.
“We should be preparing his fifth birthday cake, not preparing to have more birthdays without him.
“No parent should have to go through this, but with historically only 1% of national spending on cancer research going toward brain tumors, this is happening too much.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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