A bereaved mum who tragically lost her two-year-old son to cancer is sharing her story in the hope it will urge parents to get their child's symptoms checked as soon as possible.
On Christmas Day 2019, Mason Keating, two, from Bridport, started to feel unwell.
After several GP trips and rounds of antibiotics, Mason’s mum, Ellie Keating, ended up calling 111 on Mother’s Day last year and took her toddler into hospital.
Ellie said: “Mason first started to feel unwell on Christmas Day, he had a cough and was snotty, which was nothing out of the ordinary for a toddler his age. However, when Calpol started not working and he spiked a temperature, I started to worry."
Mason wasn't getting better and on Mother’s Day last year, Ellie called 111 and an ambulance came out. After various tests, they were blue-lighted to Southampton Piam Brown ward where it was confirmed he had leukaemia.
They hoped Mason would reach remission after the first month of chemotherapy but sadly, he did not. Ellie was told Mason had relapsed. Her doctor said that consultants up and down the country had spoken over a virtual call and were all shocked, and they hadn’t seen a rare mutation like his before.
Ellie said: “We had the option of putting him through another week of intense chemo to see where his cell count was and then he would go for a bone marrow transplant if he was in remission. Then he would receive radiotherapy if that had worked.”
However, they were told if they continued treatment there was a less than 1 per cent chance that it would work and he would have to have radiation which, Ellie says, they were told would leave him ‘brain dead’.
She said: “We chose the decision to stop all treatment, there was no cure, they didn’t know how to treat and I couldn’t put him through another week of intense chemo. It was like he was saying ‘enough’s enough’. You never dream you have to make that decision.
“I just want to get the word out there that if as a parent you think there is something wrong, pursue it and keep on – as cliché as it sounds, you do know your child better than anyone else and it could potentially save their life.”
Mason and Ellie moved back to Dorset County Hospital so they could be closer to family, who would visit regularly. Sadly, Mason died on July 23, 2020 with his mother Ellie by his side for his last breath.
Ellie wants to thank the staff at Piam Brown and DCH who helped her family through an incredibly tough time. Her Young Lives vs Cancer social worker, Clare, was there throughout and now provides bereavement support to her and her family.
Ellie now has an eight-month-old son Blake, who she found out she was pregnant with the day before Mason’s funeral, which has helped her throughout her grieving. While her family are looking forward to Blake’s first Christmas, it will be tough for Ellie to be without her first-born Mason.
Support for families
Liz Blunt, Fundraising and Engagement Manager at Young Lives vs Cancer, says: “Young Lives vs Cancer help families, like Ellie’s, from the moment their child is diagnosed with cancer. Cancer and the impact it has, is tough at any time of year but especially at Christmas.
“The support our social workers provide to families like Ellie’s is vital. We receive no government funding so rely on the kindness of others to continue to be there for families like Ellie’s this Christmas.”
To donate to Young Lives vs Cancer this Christmas: https://www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk/join-our-fight/christmasappeal/
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