Blacon mum praises school for supporting son’s battle with leukaemia

May 19 2011 by Allison Dickinson, Chester Chronicle

A MOTHER has praised her son’s school for supporting him through his treatment for leukaemia.

Angela Paterson, of Burton Road, Blacon, is mum to 10-year-old pupil Aaron, who was diagnosed in January.

She said: “He started being sick and we thought he had a virus so we took him to the GP.

“He had an enlarged spleen so she sent us straight to the Countess of Chester hospital for tests.”

Angela, 36, and her husband Keith, 35, were told Aaron had leukaemia a couple of hours later.

“I just heard the word ‘cancer’ and I broke down,” said Angela.

“I thought he had been handed a death sentence.”

Aaron was immediately taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital to start chemotherapy.

Angela said: “It all happened in one afternoon. We went from being at home to being on chemotherapy in one day. We were just so scared.”

Aaron’s condition changes from day to day and he has to be monitored constantly. He has put on a lot of weight due to steroids and has to wear age 13-14 clothes.

His brothers Ben, seven, and Matthew, six, were initially too scared to touch him in case they hurt him.

Angela said: “It really affected them but they came to the hospital with us and saw him having blood taken. They’re back to how they used to be now.”

To keep up with his schoolwork Aaron has been seeing a tutor and Angela has praised the “fantastic” support Aaron has received from the school.

“The head teacher came to visit us and she said that they wanted to do something to make his recovery more comfortable.

“So they did some sponsored events and raised £1,600. It was absolutely amazing.”

The family was able to buy Aaron a laptop, a Nintendo Wii, a TV, hi-fi system, a zoo membership for the family and animal adoptions for each of the boys.

Aaron adopted a red panda, Matthew decided on a tiger and Ben chose a meerkat. They also donated £100 to two cancer charities.

Angela said: “I can’t put it into words. They went out of their way to make sure he is as comfortable as he can be.”

Aaron faces another three years of treatment, with the first year being the most intense.

Angela explained: “Of all the types of cancer he could have had, this one is the most treatable.”