Support Thomas's Battle with Leukaemia

Thomas Fiore Woodward, Victoria, Clara and Richard (aka Bertie)

Just a few weeks before Thomas's tenth birthday, on the 9th August 2024, we were told that my nephew would be facing something no child should ever have to experience. He was diagnosed with B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, which will take a minimum of two years treatment, with ongoing care in and out of the hospital.

Tom started chemotherapy straight away, initially staying in hospital for two weeks. He shed many tears questioning why him several times. The chemotherapy treatment was very harsh and he became more frail but he tried to remain positive.

At the end of the second week Tom was allowed home, however, within 24hrs (due to a tummy bug) he was back in hospital for another week.

Once that had settled the family were relieved to get Tom home for two weeks with continued hospital visits for chemotherapy and tests, in which time he became even weaker and withdrawn, not even able to climb the stairs at home or walk around without help and needing a wheelchair when out. He became a shadow of his former self.

On the night of the 13th September 2024 Tom was sick and a call to the hospital ward reassured Bertie and Victoria to just keep an eye on him, however, by early morning and not settling, another call was made and they were told to immediately go to A&E.

To our horror on Saturday 14th September we were told Tom had been resuscitated and put into an induced coma after being saved by the amazing team in the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) to whom we are forever grateful. Tom was taken to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). This was due to a reaction from one of the drugs that was meant to help him, called PEG aparaginase, this caused acute pancreatitis. At this stage we did not know how severe it was, only that it could take months to heal, and that his cancer treatment would have to be paused.

Over the next few weeks there were many complications causing even more strain and stress upon the family.

After waking up on PICU it seemed he had reverted to a toddler repeating phrases, but he was responsive! So he was able to be moved to Starlight cancer ward. Unfortunately, Tom quickly deteriorated and after a horrendous night, he needed further scans.

An ultra sound scan showed that he had lots of fluid near his left lung. He needed to have a further operation to fit a drain. He was then moved to the High Dependency Unit (HDU).

For two days in HDU Tom deteriorated further becoming limp and non responsive and once again, late morning was moved back to PICU, as tests showed they needed to stabilise his electrolytes and potassium levels.

The specialists in PICU were then concerned about him neurologically and so MRI scans and an EEG scan were used to check his brain activity.

Whilst back in PICU he had three seizure's and needed more medication, x-rays and scans etc but responded well enough to have the lung drain removed, and to the family's relief and emotional joy Tom spoke his first words, Mummy then Daddy.

On the 29th September Tom was moved back to the cancer ward and we hoped things would settle down, but within days, a huge very sore lump showed up on his left side. This seemed to baffle the doctors, consultants and specialists. More scans were done and unfortunately the images were inconclusive.

After two very painful weeks and having checked with other medical experts in Birmingham, the BRI operated and removed fluid and a fatty mass. They fitted two drains on his side, leaving a large open wound, which may need plastic surgery. After testing the fluids it was confirmed amylase (pancreas fluid) had been and is still leaking into that area from the pancreas, which both teams in Birmingham and BRI are currently discussing the best procedure to stop/divert the amylase.

Tom is a lovely caring little boy, who has so much to offer the world. He always wants to make others happy and is the most loyal of friends. He enjoys nature (especially wolves), gaming and is very academic. It is horrid to see his sparkle dim.

On Thursday 24th October after 40 days straight in hospital for the first time in along time Tom had a beaming smile when he met Brain the hospital therapy dog.

Its hard to imagine what trauma this brave boy, with so much potential has been through and is continuing to go through daily. This is all before restarting chemotherapy and battling cancer again with no guarantee he will be out in time for Christmas.

Please know that every donation will go directly to the family, lets give them some hope and ease the financial burden, so they can focus entirely on Tom's recovery and continue to be by his side 24 hours a day.

A big THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for supporting and standing by Tom and the whole family.

Please continue to share this campaign on as many social media sites as possible to raise awareness and know that every bit of support, big or small, will make a huge difference.