A teenager was given a devastating diagnosis following a call to his parents from his worried headteacher.
Connor Ellerton had previously suffered with a number of ear infections, the Liverpool Echo reports. But GPs didn't think the problem was anything serious and prescribed him with antibiotics.
The 14-year-old, from Birkdale in Merseyside, carried on as normal but in 2019, when he was training with his school rugby team, the school's headteacher rang his mum Joanne to say something was not right.
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They asked his parents to come and collect him, then Joanne and dad Ian decided to take him to A&E. Joanne said: "Connor had an ear infection and the doctor gave him some antibiotics but it kept happening.
"The doctor kept giving him antibiotics but then over the summer holidays he was training with his school rugby team and the headteacher rang asking us to come and pick him up. We decided we needed to take him to A&E because something wasn't right.
"The doctor at the hospital said she thought he had a perforated ear drum. She took bloods but she wasn't happy with the results."
Connor was sent for another test, which revealed his devastating diagnosis. Doctors said he had leukaemia.
Joanne added: "He didn't look right, he was like a yellowy-grey colour. She then took another set of bloods so we went for a sandwich and came back to be told he had leukaemia."
The 50-year-old shop assistant was distraught and put her life on hold having just graduated from Edge Hill. But after securing nine As and Bs in his GCSEs, while undergoing three years of gruelling chemotherapy, Connor managed to beat cancer.
Connor, now 17, has also returned to the rugby pitch following his cancer battle. Just one week after finishing his treatment, Connor returned to his beloved sport after James Cook, the Southport RFC's under-18s coach asked him to play the last ten minutes.
Little did the teen know that James had arranged for the game to be halted and a guard of honour was given to the cancer survivor. Holding back the tears, Joanne said: "James arranged a tunnel to clap him onto the pitch. It was amazing. None of us knew it was going to happen."
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