Mom who thought that the crying eye of the boy was a common cold shocked by the diagnosis of cancer

A mom who thought that the crying eye of her four-year-old boy was suffering from a cold, was shaken by cancer.

Harri Cooke, of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was happy and healthy before his mother, 33-year-old Carly, realized he had tears in his eyes last September.

After initially believing that her son had a cold that had caused conjunctivitis, it was only when Harri's face began to swell that new tests were done and that a mass Deadly cancer has been discovered behind his nose.

In January of this year, an Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer, was diagnosed in Harri.

Harri is now in remission after nine months of treatment and her mother, Carly, shares her story to raise awareness.

Carly, an independent massage therapist, said, "Harri often had colds, so at first I did not think much about her crying eyes.

The doctors agreed that it was likely that it was cold, but over the weeks he was suspected of having a blocked tear duct.

"It did not seem to bother him, he was so happy all the time.

"But when his face started to swell, our GP referred us to an eye specialist.

& # 39; & # 39; Once there, six doctors arrived and they all seemed very worried.

"The NHS did everything in its power but we just did not realize how bad it was.

"Harri's bone structure around his eye had changed, indicating the evil mass behind it.

"His guy was so rare – we were completely in shock.

"You never think it will be your child."

It was six days later, after Harri's diagnosis, that he started chemotherapy on February 2 this year.

Carly and her husband, 30-year-old James Cooke, working as a mechanic, had to focus entirely on Harri's treatment.

His cancer would require treatment available only in America, as well as other NHS treatments.

In order to give Harri the best possible chance, his cancer requires treatment with proton beam therapy – a type of radiation therapy using protons rather than x-rays.

Carly added, "Josh has another younger son, who is now 14 months old, but we had to focus on Harri.

"Family friends managed to raise £ 6,000 so that he could receive proton beam therapy.

"The NHS is funding the processing fees and the main expenses, but we could not afford to pay James 12 weeks off.

"And despite everything, he was still smiling, it was so hard to watch him get through, it was like a torture."

Harri underwent 30 treatments in Florida (USA) – which continued daily under general anesthesia for six weeks – combined with 14 cycles of chemotherapy.

Fortunately, all of this was worth it and the youngster is now in remission, but his parents worry about the consequences of his treatment in the long run.

Carly said, "I believe that only 1% of fundraisers from major cancer charities go specifically to childhood cancer.

"The medicine is so much harsher for kids.

"Harri's treatments mean that he could have growth problems, tooth problems and that he is more likely to have cancer later in life."

"He had to have more than 20 blood transfusions to try to save his life."

Carly urges other parents to recognize even the smallest signs of this deadly disease and to educate the public about how a child may be affected.

Carly said, "It's so rare and unexpected that it's hard to know what to look for.

"The blood supply is currently depleted and donors are needed for blood and platelet transfusions.

"Associations like CLIC Sargent, a charity dedicated to children with cancer, are brilliant in helping families and informing them."