A mum has revealed her heartbreak as her teenage son 'begged to be put to sleep' as a result of excruciating side effects of acute lymphoblastic leukeamia.
Kaeden, 16, and his mum Gemma, appeared on the latest episode of 24 Hours in A&E, after the teen was rushed into hospital with suspected sepsis.
In the episode - aptly titled The Fighter - which aired on Channel 4 last night (10 July), Kaeden is the first critically ill patient to be rushed into Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.
Advert
The teen's mum looks on as doctors try to ease his symptoms, which are vomiting, low blood pressure and a dangerously high heart rate.
On arrival, staff immediately suspect sepsis, which Gemma is warned can 'deteriorate quickly with children'.
The consultant says: "If sepsis is not diagnosed quickly, your mortality rate is very high."
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Gemma has found herself in A&E with her son, who was diagnosed with leukaemia back in February 2019, just before his 14th birthday.
Thinking back to the diagnosis, the mum said: "Hearing your child has cancer, it’s your life crashing.
"He’s been in hospital a lot of times, but I knew it was very serious this time. I feel helpless. It’s not nice to see. I wish I could take it away from him.
"He means the world to me. I can’t imagine him not being here. He’s my little boy."
During a previous stint in hospital, doctors revealed Kaeden had developed pancreatitis, as a rare side effect of the chemotherapy treatment he was on.
The teen was 'out for nine hours', leaving Gemma to question nurses on whether or not he'd make it.
"It was 50/50 whether he survived. I asked the nurse 'is he going to survive?' and she said, 'I don't know'," she recalled.
Gemma also admits that Kaeden begged to be 'put to sleep', but after five days he eventually woke up.
"He's a fighter," his mum added. "He’s had a nightmare three years. If he can deal with what he’s dealt with, he can survive anything. I’m glad he’s still here for me to love."
Speaking to the camera, the brave teen said: "I am extremely unlucky because of everything that’s happened. But extremely lucky that I am still here."
Elsewhere in the opening episode for the 31st series of the show, a 63-year-old man comes to A&E after partially amputating his thumb at work.
Emma Rosemurgey