Noah's Toy Squad - Helping Kids With Cancer
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On 9th October 2021, Noah got admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital. What followed was the most difficult time of our lives.
Unfortunately they found a tumour in Noah’s lower stomach. After many tests and scans, they told us the heartbreaking news. Noah got diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma Cancer.
As parents, to see your baby go through so much pain and suffering is heartbreaking, but he is stronger and braver than we could ever imagine.
Thankfully, the cancer is treatable. He recently had round 6 of chemotherapy and hopefully radiotherapy is the next step in his treatment plan. He is doing well and the progress he is making is positive, as the tumour is shrinking.
Here is a timeline of what Noah has been through since being diagnosed:
October 2021 -
Noah was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
He had his first surgery where he had a double lumen hickman line inserted. This is an access point near the heart which helps with injecting/extracting bloods, medicine, transfusions and chemotherapy.
He had another surgery to insert 2 Nephrostomies. These are plastic tubes inserted into his kidneys via his back, which help drain his urine into external bags. They were put in to prevent kidney failure, as the tumour was pushing his kidneys and causing them to inflame.
He also had a biopsy on his tumour via his lower stomach, and two bone marrow aspirate's via his lower back.
He had 8 scans and tests within the month to determine the details of the tumour: CT Scan, MRI, X-Ray, Ultrasound
Noah was diagnosed with cancer on the 12th, and his first round of chemotherapy began after a few days
His chemotherapy treatment is called 'IVA' which consists of 3 types of chemotherapy drugs they inject into Noah each session, either by injection or a transfusion: Ifosfamide, Vincristine, Actinomycin.
Each round of chemotherapy is carried out over 2 days, and we have to stay over at the hospital during this time.
He also had a course of Vincristine every week, to stop the tumour from growing rapidly into his upper body.
Noah's hair started falling out on the 24th, and we shaved his head on the 26th.
He also had 5 blood/ platelet transfusions in October.
November 2021 -
Noah had his second and third round of chemotherapy and Vincristine every week for 3 weeks.
He had his first NG tube inserted. This is a tube which goes into his nose, through his throat and down into his stomach. It helps to give milk and medicine through the tube as his appetite has been affected by the chemotherapy.
He also had 5 blood/ platelet transfusions in November.
December 2021 -
Noah had 3 platelet transfusions and 1 blood transfusion.
He had an MRI scan, a chest X-ray and a nephrostogram.
He also started his fourth round of chemotherapy and had a GCSF/Pegfilgrastim injection, which helps stimulate the production of white blood cells.
January 2022 -
Noah started his fifth round of chemotherapy and had a GCSF injection.
He was on antibiotics for 7 days because he had a urine infection.
He had a chest X-ray and Cystoscopy.
At the end of January, he had his sixth round of chemotherapy and had a GCSF injection. During this time, he has bloods taken twice a week by nurses who visit Noah at home, to make sure his blood levels are stable. They also change the dressings for his hickman line and nephrostomies, once a week.
Until now, Noah has had 8 different NG tubes inserted because he keeps pulling them out of his nose.
At the end of January, Noah had a full body MRI scan. We are waiting on the results to find out the current state of the tumour, and what type of radiotherapy option is best for Noah. This is the next step in his treatment plan.
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Here is a timeline of what Noah has been through since being diagnosed:
October 2021 -
Noah was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
He had his first surgery where he had a double lumen hickman line inserted. This is an access point near the heart which helps with injecting/extracting bloods, medicine, transfusions and chemotherapy.
He had another surgery to insert 2 Nephrostomies. These are plastic tubes inserted into his kidneys via his back, which help drain his urine into external bags. They were put in to prevent kidney failure, as the tumour was pushing his kidneys and causing them to inflame.
He also had a biopsy on his tumour via his lower stomach, and two bone marrow aspirate's via his lower back.
He had 8 scans and tests within the month to determine the details of the tumour: CT Scan, MRI, X-Ray, Ultrasound
Noah was diagnosed with cancer on the 12th, and his first round of chemotherapy began after a few days
His chemotherapy treatment is called 'IVA' which consists of 3 types of chemotherapy drugs they inject into Noah each session, either by injection or a transfusion: Ifosfamide, Vincristine, Actinomycin.
Each round of chemotherapy is carried out over 2 days, and we have to stay over at the hospital during this time.
He also had a course of Vincristine every week, to stop the tumour from growing rapidly into his upper body.
Noah's hair started falling out on the 24th, and we shaved his head on the 26th.
He also had 5 blood/ platelet transfusions in October.
November 2021 -
Noah had his second and third round of chemotherapy and Vincristine every week for 3 weeks.
He had his first NG tube inserted. This is a tube which goes into his nose, through his throat and down into his stomach. It helps to give milk and medicine through the tube as his appetite has been affected by the chemotherapy.
He also had 5 blood/ platelet transfusions in November.
December 2021 -
Noah had 3 platelet transfusions and 1 blood transfusion.
He had an MRI scan, a chest X-ray and a nephrostogram.
He also started his fourth round of chemotherapy and had a GCSF/Pegfilgrastim injection, which helps stimulate the production of white blood cells.
January 2022 -
Noah started his fifth round of chemotherapy and had a GCSF injection.
He was on antibiotics for 7 days because he had a urine infection.
He had a chest X-ray and Cystoscopy.
At the end of January, he had his sixth round of chemotherapy and had a GCSF injection. During this time, he has bloods taken twice a week by nurses who visit Noah at home, to make sure his blood levels are stable. They also change the dressings for his hickman line and nephrostomies, once a week.
Until now, Noah has had 8 different NG tubes inserted because he keeps pulling them out of his nose.
At the end of January, Noah had a full body MRI scan. We are waiting on the results to find out the current state of the tumour, and what type of radiotherapy option is best for Noah. This is the next step in his treatment plan.
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When we first got admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital, we stayed for just over 2 months in Elephant Ward. As you can imagine, it was a struggle to keep a baby entertained.
This is when we realised how important toys are for children fighting cancer. We also realised that certain areas of the hospital are underfunded, and has limited resources such as toys and games available to children during their time in treatment.
While Noah has chemotherapy, toys keep him entertained and keep a smile on his face during his hardest days.
This is why we decided to raise money through Noah's Toy Squad.
This charity will be helping raise money to donate toys to children's cancer wards around the UK. We hope to raise enough to not only provide toys, but anything else that cancer wards may need for the children.
100% of all donations will be used towards the toys and we will post regular updates of the progress that we make on our Instagram page: @noahstoysquad
100% of all donations will be used towards the toys and we will post regular updates of the progress that we make on our Instagram page: @noahstoysquad
We hope to make it easier for children fighting cancer, and put a smile on their face. We saw firsthand that even though the children were going through so many struggles, playing with toys lifted their moods and made them forget about cancer - even for a moment.
This is what we hope to do for children with cancer all over the UK. Please help us and donate what you can, every donation counts.
Organizer and beneficiary
Mum and Dad
Organizer
England
Noah Hussain
Beneficiary