A BUMP WAS DEADLY
A bump on Ashle’s son’s hand turned out to be something sinister Ashle Rae, 29, Narangba, Qld
Rubbing his eyes, my son, Flynn, then seven, cheered for his favourite football star, Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was past 11pm but, being a massive soccer fan, his dad, Mitchell, 28, let Flynn watch the match.
‘Come on, let’s put you to bed,’ I said. When I held Flynn’s right hand, I noticed a raised part on his palm.
‘Did you hurt yourself?’ I asked.
‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘Is it hurting?’ Mitchell asked.
‘Only when I knock it hard,’ Flynn answered.
When it was still there a few weeks later, we took him to the GP, who thought it was a benign lump.
But the ultrasound result was inconclusive, so we saw a hand specialist, who did an MRI and a biopsy.
Two weeks later, the results were in.
‘Flynn has cancer,’ the doctor said, explaining he had a very rare epithelioid sarcoma, a slow-growing type of soft tissue cancer. I was inconsolable. ‘Mummy, am I dying?’ Flynn asked.
‘No, baby, you’re not. Mummy has you,’ I said.
At home, we told our other kids, Willow, ve, and Vincent, three, that Flynn was sick.
‘I don’t want Flynn to go away,’ Willow cried.
The next day doctors shared more devastating news. ‘Flynn will have to have his pinkie and ring
nger amputated, all the way up to his wrist,’ they said.
They explained chemo or radiation couldn’t x this cancer, so it was the only option.
‘If we don’t do this, Flynn will die,’ a doctor added. So a month later, Flynn went under the knife.
‘We’ll be here when you wake,’ I told him.
It was a nine-hour op. He had a skin ap taken from his left thigh and placed on his palm to cover the amputation site, so the rest of his hand and ngers could be preserved. Thankfully, the cancer hadn’t spread to Flynn’s lymph nodes. After a week in hospital, he came home.
When we removed the bandage, his hand was swollen and raw.
‘It looks weird,’ Flynn said, seeing it.
‘It’ll get better,’ I soothed. He often missed school as he was in pain, and he wore a glove as he felt self-conscious.
But at the start of this year, he went back to school and can now even write, taking regular breaks.
He loves riding his bike, playing PlayStation with his dad and is even learning guitar, adapting as he goes.
In May last year, Flynn’s one-year post diagnosis scan came back clear.
Three months later, Mitchell ran over 220km in a month, raising funds for the Children’s Hospital Foundation, to thank them for their care.
Now, we’re focused on helping our brave boy live a full and happy life. ●
To donate to help sick kids, visit childrens.org.au
He loves riding his bike and is even learning
guitar