Murph's Journey with Leukaemia
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Fab to have you here and thanks for coming to see us!
My gorgeous, funny, spirited and sensitive son Murph (real name Marshall Stephenson) was diagnosed with Leukaemia on Tuesday 16th July 2019. He had not long turned 3.
Murph was struggling for a couple of months with severe but non-specific symptoms - nausea, sickness, fatigue, lethargy, irritability, screaming, night sweats, restlessness, not sleeping, pain in his body, especially his back and behind his knees etc.
After taking him to the GP 3 times, I decided it was time to get in front of a paediatrician however I could, and after blood tests we received a call after just 6 hours asking us to go to hospital.
It didn't take long for them to diagnose Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. It progresses rapidly and aggressively and requires immediate treatment. Both adults and children can be affected.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is very rare, with around 650 people diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK. Half of all cases diagnosed are in adults and half in children.
Although rare, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common type of childhood leukaemia. About 85% of the cases that affect children occur in those younger than 15 (mostly between the ages of two and five). It tends to be more common in males than females.
I have set up this page because so many people have been asking how they can help us.
The MOST helpful thing for us right now is for people to help us out with incidental expenses... all the things we weren't planning for!
We live in Haverfordwest and our treatment will mostly happen in Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales, Cardiff. It's a 4-hour round trip and after our initial long stay, we'll need to do that 3 times a week for quite a while.
It is also going to affect our family life dramatically. Will works full-time and I was just starting to start working for myself again after my second maternity leave (our second son Kolby just turned 10 months old).
Will won't be going back to work for some months, and I also won't be in a position to work either.
The chemotherapy treatment will be intensive for around 6 months, followed by a further 2.5 years which hopefully will be less intensive.
Once the 3 years of chemotherapy have been done, he will be monitored for a further 5 years - so all being well in 8 years' time we will be able to declare him cancer free!
It's going to be a long journey, but one that we're fully up for fighting.
If you can help to buy us a Pot Noodle, put a few quid's worth of petrol in the car or maybe get Murph some Lego on the dark days... that would be fricking awesome.
Much love, Cat, Will, Murph and Kolby xxxxx
Picture below is of Murph's first chemotherapy treatment...
My gorgeous, funny, spirited and sensitive son Murph (real name Marshall Stephenson) was diagnosed with Leukaemia on Tuesday 16th July 2019. He had not long turned 3.
Murph was struggling for a couple of months with severe but non-specific symptoms - nausea, sickness, fatigue, lethargy, irritability, screaming, night sweats, restlessness, not sleeping, pain in his body, especially his back and behind his knees etc.
After taking him to the GP 3 times, I decided it was time to get in front of a paediatrician however I could, and after blood tests we received a call after just 6 hours asking us to go to hospital.
It didn't take long for them to diagnose Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. It progresses rapidly and aggressively and requires immediate treatment. Both adults and children can be affected.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is very rare, with around 650 people diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK. Half of all cases diagnosed are in adults and half in children.
Although rare, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common type of childhood leukaemia. About 85% of the cases that affect children occur in those younger than 15 (mostly between the ages of two and five). It tends to be more common in males than females.
I have set up this page because so many people have been asking how they can help us.
The MOST helpful thing for us right now is for people to help us out with incidental expenses... all the things we weren't planning for!
We live in Haverfordwest and our treatment will mostly happen in Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales, Cardiff. It's a 4-hour round trip and after our initial long stay, we'll need to do that 3 times a week for quite a while.
It is also going to affect our family life dramatically. Will works full-time and I was just starting to start working for myself again after my second maternity leave (our second son Kolby just turned 10 months old).
Will won't be going back to work for some months, and I also won't be in a position to work either.
The chemotherapy treatment will be intensive for around 6 months, followed by a further 2.5 years which hopefully will be less intensive.
Once the 3 years of chemotherapy have been done, he will be monitored for a further 5 years - so all being well in 8 years' time we will be able to declare him cancer free!
It's going to be a long journey, but one that we're fully up for fighting.
If you can help to buy us a Pot Noodle, put a few quid's worth of petrol in the car or maybe get Murph some Lego on the dark days... that would be fricking awesome.
Much love, Cat, Will, Murph and Kolby xxxxx
Picture below is of Murph's first chemotherapy treatment...
Organiser
Cat Marshall
Organiser
