HOPE TO HEARTBREAK
Teenager given the all clear from brain cancer is told he now has an untreatable tumour in his spine – His family are hoping to make precious memories after...
A TEENAGER who was given the allclear after beating a brain tumour has now heartbreakingly developed an untreatable tumour in his spine.
Months after Josh Laird, from Countesthorpe, rang the bell at hospital to celebrate his recovery, doctors have told him there is nothing they can do for him.
The 16-year-old Leicester City fan was diagnosed with a brain tumour in July 2020 and he went through treatments at hospitals in Nottingham and Sheffield, determined to fight the cancer. Now, however, the medulloblastoma looks untreatable.
His parents, Pete and Vicky, are planning to take him on a last family holiday to Florida to make some last, precious memories with him.
Pete, said: “The news hit me really hard and I don’t know how to react or what to do.
“I’ve tried so hard for the last year to be optimistic and positive while knowing in the back of my mind that the cancer could come back.
“It’s been terrifying watching Josh go through all the operations, radiotherapy and especially the chemotherapy, but he just kept smiling and took it all in his stride.”
Friends, family and strangers, including famous YouTuber Romell Henry, have helped donate to a fund-raising website to pay for the holiday.
Pete said: “Vicky and I are at rock bottom with this and uncertain on what the future holds or what time we have left but what has helped put into perspective is how our friends have supported us.
“It’s so overwhelming and we feel like we don’t deserve it.
“I’d give everything I have, including my own life for Josh to be cured, but it’s something I can’t control and as a dad it makes me feel useless that I can’t protect my own son.”
Lee Barton, a friend of the family who organised the fund-raising, said: “It’s been phenomenal how people have come together.
“People are offering up all sorts of things and we’ve had YouTubers donating and Josh is over the moon about that. There have been kids giving up their weekly pocket money because they understand what a terrible situation it is for Josh.
“It has been a desperate situation. Josh was given the all-clear and even rang the bell as he left hospital.
“There is a sliver of hope but it really is a sliver. It’s heartbreaking.”
Donate to the family’s crowdfunding page at: