Little Elliot was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) on July 11, 2024, at the age of two.
A Scots toddler was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer after constantly picking up bugs and sickness.
Little Elliot was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML) on July 11, 2024, at the age of two. His mum Jenny and dad Dave, from Clarkston in Glasgow, have told how his bouts of sickness prior to his diagnosis were “ten times worse” than other kids his age.
They were taking Elliot to the doctors every two weeks, with him experiencing a lack of appetite, a constant cough and hives over his body which no medication seemed to treat. Jenny, left unhappy with the doctors’ assessments, did her own research and came across one condition that it could be.
Jenny told Glasgow Live: “I said the word in my head a couple of times before I remember phoning the doctor. A few weeks later, we were sent to the hospital’s respiratory department, and I insisted on the blood test. I told them I’m not leaving until I get one.”
Following a series of tests, Elliot was diagnosed with the rare blood cancer, which affects one in around a million kids. JMML is caused when bone marrow produces too many abnormal white blood cells. It mainly affects young children and can cause symptoms such as infection and swelling.
Jenny said: “It was surreal. Our whole life stopped. We had to stop working straight away. It was made clear that he didn’t have time. He needed to have a stem cell transplant now. The normal treatments for cancer wouldn’t work on him.”
In September, a donor was found, and Elliot began intense chemotherapy. However, the treatment made him critically ill. Just ten days after his transplant, Elliot stopped breathing in Jenny’s arms. A crash team was called while nurses performed CPR as his parents watched in terror.
Jenny said: “It was horrendous. The treatment almost killed him. He stopped breathing in my arms.”
Jenny, who is originally from Ireland, feared the youngster wouldn’t survive, as her family flew over to see the family for what they thought would be their last Christmas. However, the brave little man battled through and his cancer went into remission. But it was only the start of challenges for Elliot and his parents after they received the news that he had developed graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).
The systemic disorder occurs when immune cells from transplanted tissue recognise the recipient’s body as foreign and attack its cells. The condition left Elliot with complete gut failure and meant that he was in constant pain, with blood being found in his nappies.
“He was just haemorrhaging and in incredible pain, said Jenny. “It’s so aggressive that they thought he wouldn’t survive.”
The condition has left his bowel so damaged that nothing can pass through it, and he is only able to get nutrients through an IV. In January, he underwent his first major bowel surgery to remove the scar tissue, where half a metre of bowel was removed and new joints made. Elliot, now four, spent a week in intensive care in what Jenny describes as a “horrendous time”. Fortunately, the surgery relieved much of the youngster’s pain.
Earlier this week, he underwent a second bowel surgery. And just days after the surgery, he was already out of bed singing and dancing. Jenny says that despite all he has faced – including a near 19-month stay in hospital and the multiple times medics feared that he wouldn’t make it – he has kept everyone going with positivity, joy and his love of animals.
She said: “All he does is sing and play. He’s animal mad. If you look at him up and about and see his happy, smiley face, you’d think there is nothing wrong with him. He’s so inspirational. It’s impossible to be sad when you’re in the room with him. We went for a walk with him today to feed the ducks, and he found a ladybird.
“We had to convince him that it wouldn’t survive well in the hospital environment. He wasn’t convinced.”
Both Jenny and Dave have had to give up their jobs to be with Elliot, who has stayed at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Glasgow for nearly two years. The couple have rarely been home, instead swapping between staying in the hospital or sleeping across the road in a room provided by a local charity. And while Elliot has improved, there is still a long road ahead before he can even go home to spend the night.
Doctors hope that one day his gut will heal. But in the meantime, the family – who have been forced to witness countless anaesthetics, procedures, transfusions, surgeries, compression fractures in his spine, loss of mobility and severe pain – are now facing the reality of supporting themselves while the brave youngster battles on.
To allow them to do so, a GoFundMe has been set up by their loved ones. It reads: “Jenny and Dave have been by Elliot’s side every day and have been unable to work for nearly two years. We have watched them break over and over again and somehow reach to depths no one should ever know exists for the strength to keep going.
“We have seen them step out of Elliot’s hospital room and weep like they might never stop only to return with a smile, a game, a cuddle, or a distraction for their boy. Their entire focus has been keeping their son alive.
“Although they’ve had support from family, the financial strain is ongoing – and Elliot’s recovery will take a long time, with no clear discharge date from hospital. We are raising funds to give Jenny and Dave the financial breathing space to focus fully on Elliot’s care and recovery.”
Anyone wishing to donate can do so here.
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