The family of a four-year old boy have been left devastated after he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer on Christmas Day. Youngster Jaxon Garvey had been suffering for a short while with a sore neck, which led to his parents Melissa Roberts and Callam Garvey deciding to get him checked out in A&E as a precaution.
After Jaxon's blood results came back all clear, Melissa and Callam - from Leigh, Greater Manchester - felt reassured and began to relax. However, within a matter of hours their world was turned upside down.
For Jaxon suddenly lost the ability to walk properly and was subsequently referred for an MRI scan, the results of which were received by the family on December 25 and said he had developed multiple brain tumours. Although doctors are yet to ascertain the exact type of cancer Jaxon has, they believed it was rare and aggressive enough to refer him immediately for chemotherapy.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Jaxon's aunt, Ashley Roberts said: "We are all just devastated. Melissa and Callam also have a nine-month-old baby boy but haven't left Jaxon's side. Three weeks before they went to A&E he started complaining of a sore neck. That turned into crying and then screaming so we took him to hospital on December 23.
"He was seen by the doctors there who did some blood tests which came back clear. We were hopeful that everything was okay but as we were waiting to see the paediatrician which we thought was just a precaution. But then we noticed that he had lost his ability to walk properly.
"Doctors looked at the way he was walking and wanted to do an MRI scan. They kept us in until the results came back."
Ashley revealed that Jaxon's first surgery lasted a staggering 11 and half hours, in which 95% of three of his four tumours were removed.
A GoFundMe page, meanwhile, has since been set up by Ashley to provide financial support Melissa and Callam and allow them to take as much work off as possible to be by Jaxon's side.
Ashley added that it is still yet to be determined how long Jaxon will remain in hospital for, which is even more difficult due to the fact Melissa and Callam also have a nine-month old baby.
You can donate to the fundraising page here.
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