After repeated misdiagnoses, would Gemma ever find out why her boy was in such pain?
Watching my toddler Archie, two, peer into the rock pool, I said, ‘Can you see anything?’
‘A crab!’ Archie shouted, full of glee.
Archie was a happy little boy who loved being outside.
Only, not long after our beach trip, he started complaining of back pain.
When it didn’t ease, I took him to the GP.
‘It’s constipation,’ the doctor said, prescribing medication.
But I wasn’t convinced. My boy was going to the toilet regularly.
Over the next few weeks, Archie continued to groan about his back aching as well as stomach aches.
‘It hurts, Mummy!’ he’d say, tears in his eyes.
This time the GP suggested he had a urinary tract infection.
But the pain continued.
Then one day, another mum said, ‘He walks like a little old man, doesn’t he?’
I laughed, but looking at Archie, I noticed his upper body stooped forwards, leaving his back hunched.
At home, I asked Archie to stand up straight and was concerned when I found he couldn’t straighten his knees and when he did, his upper body lent forwards more.
Since Archie was a pandemic baby, I called his health visitor to get some overdue measurements and weights taken.
He was small for his age and he even still fitted into his first pair of shoes – it was as if he wasn’t growing.
Looking at Archie’s posture, the health visitor sent him to see a physiotherapist.
After a few months, I was told Archie would grow out of his funny walk, and not to worry.
But then, the pain became worse. Archie would be awake the whole night, screaming.
While in the car, he would flinch in agony whenever we went over a bump.
Doctors suggested various ailments including night terrors and an undescended testicle.
Then, Archie couldn’t go to the toilet and when he did, it was a few drops and the colour of treacle.
Horrified, we made our 27th trip to the doctor’s and Archie was referred for an MRI scan.
The next day, we were on our way to Peppa Pig World with my mum, when the hospital called.
‘Archie has a mass on his spine and we need to conduct urgent surgery to remove it,’ a consultant said.
My eyes went blurry and my hands shook as I tried to take in the news.
‘We’re on our way right now,’ I said.
Our day out abandoned, Mum drove us to Bristol Children’s Hospital where doctors were waiting.
‘The tumour is nine centimetres and it has damaged Archie’s spinal cord, he won’t be able to walk again,’ a doctor said.
The surgery was a huge risk and we were told there was only a one-in-five chance of Archie’s survival. But it was the only option to save his life.
Watching Archie drift off to sleep before surgery, I couldn’t stop crying.
After an agonising 18 hours, we were told Archie’s operation had been a success – the tumour had been removed.
Sitting with him in his hospital bed, I held him tight.
Thankfully, after testing, the tumour was benign and I breathed a huge sigh of relief that Archie didn’t need any further treatment.
Months later, however, at a scan, we were horrified to find that the tumour had returned.
After another operation to remove the two centimetre growth, Archie was finally out of the woods.
He came home on my birthday and I cheered, ‘This is the best present ever!’
Due to where the tumour was, Archie has a spinal cord injury and will have for the rest of his life. But he’s a content and confident lad and has adapted so well to life in a wheelchair.
If Archie wants to do something, my boy will find a way!