Joy for family of boy who battled a brain tumour
20 MONTHS AFTER SHOCK DIAGNOSIS
A TEENAGER who has fought cancer is set to start 2022 off in the best way possible after getting the all-clear.
Charlie Card, 13, from Heaton, was diagnosed with a type of brain tumour called medulloblastoma on Easter Monday in 2019.
The youngster underwent months of treatment and his latest scans have revealed he is cancer-free and there is no trace of the disease, two years after he finished treatment.
Newcastle United superfan Charlie is now preparing to celebrate the New Year with his family.
Charlie’s dad Gary, 44, said: “The weeks leading up to a scan are awful. Your mind just goes through every scenario possible.
“But this one felt like a big milestone as I remember the consultant saying when he was first diagnosed to get to two years after treatment is good and five years even better. Charlie has now made that two-year mark and it feels incredible.”
Charlie was just 10 when he started experiencing changes in his vision, seeing black spots, and having episodes of uncontrollable retching.
Gary, who worked in removals before Charlie was diagnosed but left to care for him, said: “Charlie was a really fit and healthy boy and he had just a year or so before really taken on my love of football and we’d started watching Newcastle together.
“But not long after he started having different problems with his eyes and he would spend hours on end just retching but nothing happening.
“It was awful to see him like that, but several GP visits and health checks didn’t suggest anything was wrong and it was thought more likely to be a virus.”
With no improvements, Gary decided enough was enough and took his son to A&E.
He added: “His mam Rosie had made a lovely roast dinner, with it being Easter, and we were looking forward to getting this sorted and getting home to eat. Little did we know that we would be there hours and end up with a lifechanging diagnosis.”
Charlie was sent for an eye examination in hospital as part of the tests done on him, and it was her that requested a CAT scan after she noticed pressure on the optical nerve.
The results showed Charlie had a mass in his cerebellum, the lower back part of the brain, and would need urgent surgery. Gary said: “He was having a CAT scan at 7.30pm and by 10am the next morning he was going into surgery to remove a brain tumour. It was a terrifying experience, but the surgical team and consultants that talked to us that night and led him through it were so confident they could tackle this we knew we were in the best hands.
“The situation had added heartbreak for us as a family as we were in the same hospital where our baby Hayden had died of a kidney problem at six months old. It brought back all kinds of fears and upset.”
Charlie underwent a seven-hour operation to remove the tumour and recovered in hospital before undergoing a gruelling 31 rounds of radiotherapy at the Freeman Hospital.
Following that, he began intensive chemotherapy – something Gary describes as “horrific.”
He said: “When the doctors said Charlie would be getting the most intensive treatment to do everything to get rid of the cancer cells, we underestimated just how much of an impact it would have on him.
“Within days he went from looking like Charlie, to being really poorly and wiped out. It really took its toll on him. But he just soldiered on and was so resilient.”
Charlie still has to eat via a feeding tube, and has daily growth hormone injections as well as tablets for low thyroid levels due to the impact of the radiotherapy on his pituitary gland, meaning he no longer produces growth hormone.
Charlie’s favourite player of all time is Ronaldo, and he hopes one day to meet his hero, having already met some Newcastle United stars.
In February 2020, he was given the chance to walk out at St James’ Park as a mascot with club captain Jamaal Lascelles, who took Charlie under his wing after hearing his story and visited him in hospital.
Gary said: “What Jamaal has done for Charlie I’ll never forget. He was amazing with him in hospital and spent time getting to know him and finding out about his treatment.
“He really cared and it made the world of difference to Charlie, who had been quite withdrawn while in hospital.”
Charlie has received a Cancer Research UK for Children and Young People Star Award – and Gary says his family couldn’t be more proud of him.
He said: “Charlie really is a star to all who know him and he’s our hero. He has been amazing through it all.
“I look forward to him getting his football boots back on and having his energy back again to be able to kick about with the lads like any other teenager.
“But first we’re just going to enjoy a great start to the new year with the weight lifted off and knowing he is still cancer-free. We’ve already had a great Christmas and got to see Ronaldo play at St James’ on Monday.
“And who knows, maybe his next celebration could be meeting the man himself.”
Charlie and Gary will be spending New Year at home with mam Rosie and sisters Ebony, 19, and Talliah, 17.
Around 75 children are diagnosed with cancer in the North East every year.
HE GETS THE ALL-CLEAR