Callum was born in October 2014 and very soon after he came down with Bronchiolitis - the baby’s form of chest infection. In hospital, he was given an IV drip, oxygen to help him breathe and a nasal gastric tube through the nose to feed. During a routine blood test to make sure that Callum’s drip was working, doctors noticed his white cell count was high, and his haemoglobin and platelet count were low. After a blood transfusion and platelet transfusion he began to recover and was discharged but returned to hospital each day for blood tests.
On 18th December 2014, when Callum was just 11 weeks old, his parents were asked to take him to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool to have a bone marrow test as his white blood cell count was still surpassing his other bloods. The next day, less than a week before his first Christmas, Callum was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
On 18th December 2014, when Callum was just 11 weeks old, his parents were asked to take him to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool to have a bone marrow test as his white blood cell count was still surpassing his other bloods. The next day, less than a week before his first Christmas, Callum was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
ALL is a cancer of the white blood cells and it only affects one in every 150 children under the age of one, worldwide.
Callum is now travelling more than two hours every day to receive treatment at hospital. Mum has just finished maternity leave but is still at home caring for Callum and his four year old brother, Lucas. As a result, the family’s income has been reduced and, as is often the case, their outgoings have gone up. The regular cost of petrol to and from hospital, on top of parking and the day to day extras, such as food and drink during hospital stays, are taking their toll, so we are helping the family financially during treatment. This financial relief will allow mum and dad to focus their attention where it is most needed - on Callum and Lucas.
Dad left this message on our Facebook page in June 2015:
Callum is now travelling more than two hours every day to receive treatment at hospital. Mum has just finished maternity leave but is still at home caring for Callum and his four year old brother, Lucas. As a result, the family’s income has been reduced and, as is often the case, their outgoings have gone up. The regular cost of petrol to and from hospital, on top of parking and the day to day extras, such as food and drink during hospital stays, are taking their toll, so we are helping the family financially during treatment. This financial relief will allow mum and dad to focus their attention where it is most needed - on Callum and Lucas.
Dad left this message on our Facebook page in June 2015:
Hi guys, My family just wanted to write a note to say how increasingly grateful we are for your help whilst doing Callum's appeal. So far the money has helped us food shop, repay £40 debt off our pay and go utility meters and pay for diesel, just as Callum had a line infection which we could never anticipate/budget for, so your help really went a long way during that period for food, diesel and childcare. All of the staff I have spoken to are empathetic, kind and extremely warm hearted and we think you guys are wonderful. Thank you for being the light in our tunnel.
Dad sent us the following update shortly after Callum's first birthday in September 2015:
You can help to raise funds for Callum's family, and others like them by holding a 50:50 Competition, organising your own event, or taking on a sponsored challenge!
Hey, Callum is certainly 1 happy chappy these days! Even with all the pain, pokes and prods that he has to endure, he still smiles, laughs and continues to learn. He is now crawling, eating, and even beginning to dance!
With the help of Lennox, our family has been able to get through what we never thought we could have. When we came out from our 42 night stay at Alder Hey hospital, we had no one to initially turn to. For us to be able to sterilise everything and keep Callum warm, we had to use so much more gas and electric, which left us in debt. Our petrol bills were spiraling out of control and we were hitting a dark spot. We sent a request for a small grant to help clear a couple of debts and give us a little breathing space. Vicki got in touch from Lennox and told us just how they could help out. When I hung the phone up and told my wife, she broke down in tears, we couldn’t believe there was someone out there who was willing to help. It meant that the days I had to take off work (unpaid), were no longer jeopardising our family and we could now focus more on Callum's progress. Callum is now off intense treatment and is on maintenance, and things are forever improving. With Lennox's help, we have enjoyed the finer things in life, we have bought a swing, and have managed to take a small break in a less tourist filled place. I cannot stress enough how fantastic these guys are and how much worse off we would have been without the light at the end of the tunnel, being Lennox. You are amazing!
Much love to you all, you guys have been our rock when we needed it most!
From all of us here at the Tolley household, thank you soooo much!
RSS Feed
