Message from Cbeebies star puts smile on Bailey’s face as he spends the lockdown in hospital
BRAVE SEVEN-YEAR-OLD IS BATTLING A BRAIN TUMOUR
THE mum of a Hull seven-yearold battling a brain tumour has described his illness and the difficulties of supporting a child in hospital amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Helen Gibson has shared her son Bailey’s story from alongside him in his Leeds hospital bed and even managed to lift his spirits thanks to a video from one of his favourite TV characters.
As well as battling a tumour which was first noticed on a routine scan last year, Bailey also has epilepsy, hydrocephalus and chiari malformation - where the lower brain pushes into the spinal cord. He also has autism.
His autism meant the routine he had been in was thrown upside down when he started to need to go on hospital trips for chemotherapy, but a charity that helps to care for him managed to step in to help save the day.
Helen said: “He was quickly transferred to Leeds where a biopsy was done. He was diagnosed with a grade two glioma in the February. In April he started weekly chemo, which wasn’t easy at all.
“Bailey’s autism means changing of routine can be difficult for him, but the oncology staff in Leeds were great and made sure we did the same thing every week, even sitting on the same bed.
“Bailey could take home comforts with him to Leeds. He had his Balamory DVDS, but missed the ones that he had on his TV at home so Aim Higher donated a laptop to us and gave Bailey a USB stick with all his favourite episodes on. This made going weekly so much easier.” His love of the Cbeebies show even saw him receive a special message from one of its main characters after a social media campaign was set up by the Hull charity. The video message from PC Plum “put an even bigger smile on Bailey’s face” according to his mum.
A video of him watching it for the first time also showed just how much he enjoyed it.
“Bailey started watching Balamory when he was at nursery. Because of Bailey’s learning difficulties, he’s very sensory and visual so he loves all the singing, dancing and musical instruments in each episode,” Helen said.
“As this isn’t a short-term illness, then whenever he’s feeling poorly it’ll be good to have something to show him to make him feel a little better.”
Despite 90 per cent of his tumour being removed in February, Bailey started to show signs of an infection a few weeks later meaning a return to hospital in Leeds was on the cards.
Due to his weakened immune system, he was unable to fight it off with antibiotics alone so had to undergo yet more surgery, as well as a blood transfusion and lots of scans.
His message from PC Plum has given him a welcome distraction.
However, for his mum, it is still a tough time due to the visiting restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus lockdown.
“The difference of being in hospital with the coronavirus means that no one can visit him and he can’t leave his room he’s in,” she said.
“Being stuck in one small room is hard for him, but watching his favourite TV has helped.
“He loved the video message. I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s watched it. He loves that PC Plum says his name and waves to it. A big thank you to him and Aim Higher and also to everyone who shared the post. You’ve put an even bigger smile on Bailey’s face.”
Being stuck in one small room is hard for him but watching his favourite TV has helped
Helen Gibson