"Ross had been born with cancer although it wasn't until he was 9 months old that he started showing symptoms of being ill.
Every day ten families in th UK have their worlds shattered when their child is diagnosed with cancer or leukaemia."
Eileen Granger, Ross's Mum
| Before Treatment | After Treatment |
Ross had a smile for everyone
Ross in the playroom in Schiehallion Ward, Yorkhill Hospital
Click to view more Before Treatment images...
Hip Hip Hooray!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! Everyone cheered as my daughter, Chloe-Anne, My husband, Shaun and I helped my son blow out the candles on his winnie the pooh birthday cake.
Saturday 2nd July was just an ordinary day for most people. But it was a very special day for my family. It was my son, Ross' 2nd birthday. What's so special about that? Every child celebrates their birthday. Well, this was very special for us. Although it was Ross' 2nd birthday, it was his 1st birthday spent at home. Ross had spent his 1st birthday in hospital. Most of the previous year had been spent at, Yorkhill, Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, where Ross had been battling cancer.
Ross had been born with cancer although it wasn't until he was 9 months old that he started showing symptoms of being ill. Cancer is a very scary word, but we almost always associate it with adults. Very rarely do we hear of children with cancer, but it's not as rare as we think. Every day ten families in th UK have their worlds shattered when their child is diagnosed with cancer or leukaemia. Every day of every month of every year. My son was one of those children.
When I fell pregnant with Ross in October 2002, everyone told me that I would never get another one like Chloe-Anne. She was such a wonderful baby. She was about 5 months old before any of the family heard her cry. I proved them all wrong. Ross was just as wonderful as his big sister. Well, he was when he was with me. With other people, he was entirely different. There were times when he wouldn't even settle with his daddy. I didn't mind. I loved the fact that he wanted me to cuddle him, feed him, bath him. But it was a bit of a stuggle when it was time for me to go back to work. Chloe-anne already went to a childminder when she wasn't at nursery. June had cared for Chloe-Anne since she was 8 weeks old. I thought ross would settle in just as Chloe-Anne had and at times he was fine. But many times, I would get a phone call at work saying that Ross had been crying all day and just wouldn't settle.
Working for my parents, I was very fortunate that I could leave work early to go and pick Ross up. It wasn't just at June's that Ross was like this. My dad nicknamed him "Cross Ross". He cried at the mere sight of my sister, Karen. We all thought this was hilarious. I put the crying down to normal baby problems, like teething, wind, needing a sleep. Little did I know that there was a potentially fatal disease festering in my baby's tiny body. The poor wee soul must have been in extreme pain.
Ross had always had a good appetite. Finishing 9oz of milk and then devouring 2 courses of solids. At the age of 9 months, Ross began to be constantly sick, losing weight rapidly and dropping a size in nappies. His tummy was so distended and with his wee skinny arms and legs, the only way to diescribe him is "like a starving child". I thought he had a digestive problem or an allergy to some foods. I phoned our surgery, but couldn't get an appointment with my own doctor, so I took an appointment with another doctor in the surgery.
Ross was diagnosed with a chest infection and given antibiotics. But he was still ill after the course had finished. I took him to another doctor. This time it was a throat infection and another course of antibiotics. That didn't help either. My baby boy was still being very sick. But I was more concerned about his diatended tummy.
I took Ross to 7 doctors in total, each giving him a course of antibiotics and not one of them helping. He was still as poorly as ever. We also called out the health visitor, Katrina. She checked him over but, like me, she didn't know why Ross' tummy was so distended. She suggested we change Ross' milk from SMA Gold to Aptimal First, thiking that it would be easier for Ross to digest. Katrina came back out the following week, and realised that Ross was still losing to much weight. She told me to take him to the doctor as soon as possible. By this time I didn't have much faith in doctors, but I still hadn't seen my own doctor, Dr Kennedy........
Read Ross's whole story in our book "Ross, a little miracle"
All proceeds will go to CLIC Sargent to help other kids like Ross.
