An "incredible little boy" has run out of treatment options as he continues to fight a gruelling illness.
Nicola Wharton noticed her son Aaron had a "lopsided" face when he tried to smile and tests eventually showed he had a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. At the age of four, Aaron was diagnosed with Aanaplastic Ependymoma.
Now aged seven, Aaron has spent much of his young life in and out of Alder Hey Children's Hospital and the Wrexham Maelor hospital. The North Wales family were given the devastating news the youngster's cancer had returned in 2021, but there was further heartbreak when they were told Aaron would have to be placed into palliative care.
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Nicola said: "It was very hard to take in what the oncologist was telling us. Following the scan that Aaron had in September, we were told that there were two, possibly three new tumours in the original site at the back of the head and a new tumour at the top of his head that was causing issues with a build of fluid.
"Because of the genetics of the tumour, that we had exhausted radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment, and there were no target drugs or clinical trials available, our only option was to look at palliative chemotherapy with a view of prolonging Aaron's life. In a period of six weeks, the newest tumour at the top of Aaron's head had doubled in size."
Just weeks before Christmas, Aaron was operated on at Alder Hey by surgeon Connor Mallucci, who had managed to successfully remove all of Aaron's previous tumours. Nicola added: "Once again, he achieved a complete resection of this new tumour, in the hope that it could prolong Aaron's life further.
"If this had not been done, Aaron would not have made it to Christmas. The palliative chemotherapy is to try and reduce the growth of the remaining tumours."
Over Christmas, the seven-year-old picked up bronchiolitis and rhinovirus as well as becoming neutropenic - a condition where you have a low number of white blood cells. He also developed a fungal infection in his central line in his chest. Due to the seriousness of the risks he found himself in hospital over the festive period as Nicola said: "We were able to come home for a short time on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day."
A fundraiser has been launched to help the family make lasting memories together as the young "superhero" continues his fight. Anyone wishing to donate can do so here.
Previously speaking to the ECHO, Nicola urged parents to trust their instincts as she said: " I knew something was wrong with Aaron back in 2020, just before covid hit and we weren't sure whether to take him to hospital. But trust your instincts and ask questions, they are experts for a reason and if you're not happy with something, keep pushing for answers."
Aaron's journey can be found here.
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