Bronchitis, respiratory tract infection or normal growth: child dies of leukemia after several misdiagnoses

Rachel and Andrew, parents to two-year-old Rory Harty and six-year-old Noah, began to notice something strange was happening to their youngest son. Rory’s belly was getting bigger and bigger, but her parents thought this was normal for a baby’s growth. However, after 12 weeks they discovered that Roy had cancer.

According to MirrorOne of the first signs was that Rachel and Andrew couldn’t fasten the boy’s diaper. They thought their son just needed a larger size, so they weren’t worried. However, after some time, the child, in addition to being very tired, began to sob and cough constantly.

The parents decided to go to the family doctor, who told them that their son had bronchitis.

“A few days after the initial consultation, he was no better,” he says. “He took a nap after lunch and usually felt very good after his nap. But one day he just lay there with a pacifier and didn’t move. He just looked at me. I noticed his stomach was digging into his ribs,” Rachel says.

He adds that the symptoms are “easily explained by the child’s development, since all children have coughs and colds, and the belly grows over time.”

Since the bronchitis was not going away, we decided to go to the emergency room because the child was showing signs of fatigue. Doctors said Rory had a respiratory tract infection and prescribed antibiotics.

However, the family was eventually taken to intensive care because the secretary was worried about Rory. The baby’s oxygen levels continued to fall and he was transferred to Preston Hospital where he was fitted with a nebulizer.

Rachel and Andrew were left waiting when the oncologist and a nurse came into the room and told them that their son had leukemia.

“When the doctor said his swollen belly could have been caused by an enlarged spleen, I Googled it, not going to lie. When I looked at the lists, on the last page it said it could be leukemia. I thought: “No, I’m his mother… I would know if he was bad.” I would know if he had leukemia,” Rachel says.

Rory later had surgery to remove fluid from his lungs and underwent six weeks of chemotherapy expected to last three years, but the child’s body did not respond to any treatment. Thus, just three months after the cancer diagnosis, the child died in hospital, in December 2021.

“Rory’s illness did not go away, but got worse. He did not respond to any treatment. Many children go home after treatment and are hospitalized again as an outpatient. We didn’t take him home. better,” says Rory’s mother.

Throughout Rory’s battle with cancer, the family was supported by Derian House, a Chorley-based charity that provides respite and end-of-life care to more than 400 babies, children and young people, the newspaper said.

The couple has since created the Tiger Box, also known as Rory’s Box, as a legacy for their son.

The establishment came about when Rachel realized that while Rory was resting in the hospital wards, she was “lucky” that they had time to make arrangements to be with her son “for an extended period of time”. However, it also made Rory’s mother realize that “not all families are close.”

“I couldn’t help but think that other families would have to choose between spending long periods of time away from their child to collect toys and belongings, or going without. That’s where the idea for Rory’s Box was born,” he adds. .