Stanley’s Story
Stanley was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at just 1 year old, undergoing emergency surgery and six months of chemotherapy. Stanley is now a happy, healthy, four-year-old, about to start School in September. Victoria, Stanley’s mum, shares his story as a story of hope for other families…
Stanley started showing signs he was ill a week before his diagnosis. One evening he suddenly started struggling to crawl and was dragging his left leg behind him. The next morning he was unable to crawl at all. We immediately took him to our local hospital where we were told it was viral and to come back in two weeks. Over the next few days Stanley became worse. He was unable to sit up unaided and eventually stopped rolling over.
We decided not to wait another two weeks and took him back to our local hospital. From there we were taken via ambulance to Kings Hospital for an MRI scan. This is where we heard the devastating news that Stanley had neuroblastoma.
Within hours of his diagnosis Stanley was in surgery. We didn’t even have time to think. Thankfully, within 48 hours Stanley was back crawling and didn’t seem to be in any pain or discomfort. We had one incident where his cannula slipped meaning the fluids were not going into his veins, causing his arm to swell, which left him with a little scarring. But overall the surgery was a success and the hospital was amazing.
The chemo was more intense with him having to have a central line fitted beforehand. Seeing our little boy go through so much was incredibly difficult and emotional. Thankfully, Stanley carried on smiling throughout the whole journey. The first cycle of chemo he didn't show many side effects apart from tiredness. The second round he began to be sick causing vomiting, this was controlled with medication.
One of the hardest parts was his neutrophils not being high enough for rounds of chemo to take place causing delays but once again nothing phased Stanley, which kept us going.
We look back now and are shocked at how he lost his hair as we really didn't see it at the time.
Stanley is now thriving, he is currently in pre-school due to start reception in September. He loves gymnastics which is brilliant considering how much Neuroblastoma affected his mobility. He loves running, riding on his scooter and just being a cheeky little four-year-old boy.
One of the biggest side effects of Stanley's treatment is his diet. He was a brilliant eater before chemotherapy, unfortunately, he is now a very beige dry eater, which is something we continue to work on daily.
We couldn't be happier with Stanley's post treatment journey. We wanted to share Stanley’s story to show a positive story for other parents going through the same experience. It was the worst possible time of our lives. We felt helpless that our little boy was being killed by such a horrible disease but he is proof it can be beaten.
Thank you to Victoria for sharing Stanley’s Story.
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