'Doctors thought our six-year-old had had 'usual Christmas bug' - but it was actually cancer'
'Doctors thought our six-year-old had had 'usual Christmas bug' - but it was actually cancer'
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A family has been left devastated after their six-year-old son's 'usual Christmas bug' turned out to be cancer. Little Jimmy Cragg first started feeling unwell back in November when he developed a cough, a cold, a sore throat, and a small lump on his neck. His parents Wendy and Will took him to the GP multiple times and made several calls to 111, but were consistently told Jimmy either had "a swollen gland", "tonsilitis" or "the usual Christmas bug going around schools".
When he started vomiting, his mum and dad rushed him to A&E and they were finally given the devastating diagnosis that Jimmy had leukemia. Mum Wendy, who works for a medical concierge clinic, said: "It started with the usual flu-like symptoms. He had a cold and a cough, and a dry mouth and sore throat. When we noticed the small lump on his neck, though, we took him to the doctor. But they said 'not to worry' - it was just a swollen gland.
Wendy, 43, said she and her husband Will, 46, got really worried when Jimmy "started speaking funny" before his school's Nativity. She said: "We took him back to the GP and they said it was probably tonsillitis. We then had to really push to get him antibiotics. After five days, he was still showing no improvement and we called 111 again on December 15. They told us to finish the course.".
That evening Jimmy started vomiting and Wendy and Will, an engineer surveyor, rang 111 another time. "A doctor told us it was just due to tonsillitis and we needed to wait it out," Wendy said. "But we were done by then. We got in the car and took him to hospital.".
