Harry was 3 years old when in November 2022 he was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
His mum, Vicky, shares his story...
Looking back, Harry did have many of the typical symptoms of leukaemia (fatigue, leg pain, high temperatures, stomach pain and vomiting), which we attributed to growing pains and picking up various viruses in nursery, but Harry was diagnosed following an A&E visit prompted by Harry's lymph nodes swelling up on Halloween.
After receiving a probable diagnosis of mumps we went home, but Harry's condition worsened over the next two weeks and his lymph nodes remained swollen so we returned to A&E, where a blood test confirmed leukaemia.
To say our lives were turned upside down is an understatement.
I was 29 weeks pregnant, we had recently moved into a new house and we had just applied for Harry to start reception in September 2023 - we were looking forward to our life as a family of 4.
Harry was admitted to the hospital immediately after diagnosis and we had to stay in for a week whilst Harry had numerous blood and platelet transfusions and started the intense "Induction" phase of ALL treatment which involved various chemotherapy drugs and steroids.
Over the next few weeks, we battled to get to grips with our new normal - administering medications, checking for temperatures, and dealing with "roid rage".
Unfortunately, we were knocked sideways again in December just 4 weeks after diagnosis, when Harry went into septic shock after we brought him to A&E following a night of severe diarrhoea.
Harry then spent 4 days in the PICU before being transferred to the ward where we spent a further 3 weeks, and celebrated our first (hopefully last!) Christmas in hospital.
Harry's little brother Oscar was born at the end of January - he was a ray of sunshine after a dark few months but we found juggling a newborn with Harry's various hospital appointments, overnight stays and care needs very difficult at first.
We received the wonderful news in March that Harry's MRD was undetectable for leukaemia cells, though he will need to continue his treatment to give him the best chance of staying in remission.
We are very passionate about funding further research into treatments for T-Cell ALL, as a less common form of ALL we would like to ensure it gets the focus it deserves
Make a donation to Harry's Fund
Open an online fundraising page for Harry's Fund
Set up a regular Direct Debit donation to Harry's Fund
Fundraising pages
Text CCLGHARRY to 70085 to donate £5
CCLG will receive 100% of your donation. You may also be charged for one text message at your network’s standard or charity rate.
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 Harry's Fund so that your donation is allocated to the correct fund.