Harris was nine months old when in July 2022 he was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a cancer of the liver. His mum Natalie shares his story...
Harris is a very happy, cheeky little boy who always has a smile on his face. Before his diagnosis, we would spend our days at various classes doing anything from singing and dressing up to yoga and swimming, and enjoyed family time with mummy, daddy and Buzz the Pug.
We’d returned from our first family holiday abroad at the end of June 2022 and towards the end Harris had developed a bit of a cold and looked bloated. We put this down to being abroad, eating different foods, and having a bit of a bug, but when we returned, he gradually began to eat less and less over the week.
We were sure he had some sort of throat infection but were concerned that he continued to look bloated. I took him to the Royal Preston Hospital for an out-of-hours appointment and we were referred up to the children’s ward, where they identified what they thought was an enlarged liver. They took some bloods, and we had two ultrasound scans, with one that evening and one the next morning. By 11.30am, we were being transferred to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital with suspected hepatoblastoma.
Harris then underwent various scans and a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis, and during his biopsy he was also fitted with a Hickman line through which his chemotherapy is given. Unfortunately, the scans showed that the cancer had spread to his lungs and there were some clots within his lungs as a result.
His official diagnosis is hepatoblastoma, which has spread to his abdominal tissue surrounding the liver and his lungs. He will undergo three months of chemotherapy at Manchester and then be reviewed for surgery, which will take place at Leeds Hospital as it’s a specialist paediatric liver centre. While it is possible to survive with a small proportion of your liver as it regenerates, the blood network in and out of the organ needs to be cancer clear, and in Harris’s instance at diagnosis this wasn’t the case. This means it’s most likely that Harris will require a liver transplant followed by further chemotherapy
Harris is a happy-go-lucky little boy and makes friends with people instantly by throwing a beaming smile their way. He loves to go to the park, play with his ‘fur brother’ Buzz, and swimming and splashing in his personal pool (the bath).
He loves to babble and probably his favourite thing to do is go to a Hartbeeps class which he’s done since being four weeks old. He loves animals, too, and has a collection of giraffe toys!.
We’ve called the fund Harris the Hero because that’s exactly what he is. He is so brave, so resilient and we couldn’t be any prouder of the fight and determination he’s showing to get better. He has tackled his treatment, as everything in life, with a smile and a giggle, even when it’s been super tough.
We wanted to support a charity that specifically supports children from a research perspective. Given how rare his diagnosis is – less than 10 children per year are diagnosed - we felt that we wanted to support a charity which actively shapes the future of treatment and seeks kinder, more effective methods. We want to raise as much money as possible, and we aspire to make a positive difference to the future of other children who find themselves in Harris’s position and make a cure more attainable.
Make a donation to Harris the hero
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Fundraising pages
Text CCLGHARRIS to 70085 to donate £5.
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You can make a donation or pay in funds raised by cheque, payable to CCLG, to CCLG, Century House, 24 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GB. Please ensure you make it clear that the donation is for Harris the Hero so that your donation is allocated to the correct fund.