Last year, 13-year-old Luke complained of a swollen sore neck. Lindsey, his grandma, took him to Darlington Hospital where he had an ultrasound and blood tests.
Lindsey said: "we were called into a room, and there were a lot of doctors. A nurse took Luke out of the room, so I had an awful feeling that we were going to be told something not very nice. And she said that they thought he had lymphoma."
Luke was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma, a cancer of the blood.
Family Support Worker Monica began supporting the family in May 2024, providing Lindsey with respite and helping Luke with his social development, isolation and anxiety.
When Luke was diagnosed, life changed dramatically for the whole family. Luke endured intensive chemotherapy, multiple blood and platelet transfusions, he had to stay in hospital for long periods of isolation and had to leave school because of the treatment.
Lindsey became his primary carer, alongside caring full time for Luke’s mum, Laura, who is disabled. Their lives became a relentless cycle of hospital visits and treatments.
Luke couldn’t go out, couldn’t go to school or see friends like other children his age for 10 months.
