Boy's cancer mistaken for tonsillitis as mum urges parents to look for signs
Tragedy struck a family when doctors found a five-year-old boy with tonsillitis symptoms has leukaemia.
Glasgow's Stephanie Dalziel, 29, noticed her son Blake Gallagher was beginning to lose weight around November last year.
The loving mum told Glasgow Live: "He had never been an unwell child. It was only around November that he was unwell constantly.
"He only started school in August so I thought it was the usual bugs you'd catch from school, but, something just wasn't right. We took him to A&E because he was losing weight and wasn't eating or drinking."
Doctors thought his symptoms could be put down to tonsillitis, but the antibiotic treatment didn't help.
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"It was initially put down as tonsillitis, so we took him home and started on antibiotics but they never helped at all. We went back about a week later and did bloods."
Rangers-mad Blake received a visit from some of the playersShe continued: "I started to think he might just be anaemic and we'd just need iron tablets. The next day one of the oncology registrars came and spoke to us and said he needed to have a bone marrow test so that's when I thought it was a lot more serious.
"He went in the next day, and it was confirmed that he had Leukaemia. It was such a shock because you never expect that."
After the diagnosis, Stephanie hopes to make other mums and dads aware of the symptoms that come with leukaemia.
Blake alongside his younger sister Ellie-RoseAppealing for more blood and stem cell donations - the mum is now a registered blood and stem cell donor - Stephanie said her little boy has had 10 blood transfusions since December.
Glasgow Children's Hospital has also ensured that anytime Blake has stayed has been as enjoyable as possible and the big Glasow Rangers fan was even able to meet some of the club's players at the end of 2022.
When the family received the devastating news, Stephanie said her "whole world crashed".
Just three days after the diagnosis, little Blake started chemotherapy and the bad news got worse for Stephanie and her partner Anthony Gallagher when their daughter came down with Strep A.
She explained: "I have a wee girl who was about five months when Blake became unwell.
"The second time he went into A&E she had strep-A, so me and my partner were exhausted, with them being unwell. That night when we went and they told me the diagnosis I felt numb.
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"I felt I was living in a nightmare and that I was just going to wake up.
The family also coped with young Ellie-Rose coming down with a bout of Strep A
Little Blake has had 10 blood transfusions"It properly hit me a few days after. Then it hit me again in the cancer ward because that's when you see the reality that we'd be living.
"I broke down in tears. When I went in everything went through my head."
Stephanie now feels that, before Blake's diagnosis, she was taking life "for granted" and that it can be tough to explain to her son what is happening to him due to his age.
The brave boy's immune system has been knocked by the chemotherapy, meaning he can't do the fun activities he always enjoyed such as visiting the soft play centre.
She said: "We would just go to soft play or the park but now we aren't allowed to go because the chemo has knocked his immune system.
"It's horrible to think I'd go to soft play to kill some time but I'd do anything to take him to soft play right now because he is always asking to go but he can't."
Despite the diagnosis, brave Blake who is a "reserved" boy has started to become more familiar with his treatment.
This is helped by the hospital's play team, which has a 'teddy hospital'.
The thankful mum is now hoping to raise as much money as possible for the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity by walking 15,000 steps a day for the whole of May.
Stephanie said: "My motivation is obviously the really good cause that is close to my heart.
"I have few people supporting me as well, like my sister-in-law, she's doing it and other people want to come out and join in.
"I'm trying to work my way up to it now. When you are in that space you feel like the only one but then you realise you aren't the only one.
"I can't fault those who work in the Children's hospital."
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