A teenager who was diagnosed with leukaemia after a visit to the dentist has been told he is now in remission.
Kieran Upfold, 16, was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma after a dentist raised concerns and sent him to Hull Royal Infirmary.
He was diagnosed with blood cancer hours later and rushed to Leeds General Infirmary where he immediately started treatment.
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He was so poorly at that stage that he was in intensive care fighting for his life.
However, six months on, he is happily now in remission and preparing to finally leave Leeds General.
Mum Sarah said his journey is not over yet however, as he has monthly checks and a long stint of physiotherapy to get him back on his feet before he can finally go home.
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He is being initially discharged to Castle Hill Hospital, where he will need intensive physio to get him mobile again after six months of being bed-ridden.
Sarah said: “He has been through several round of chemotherapy and he is still in Leeds hospital but we are waiting for him to be moved to Castle Hill, he still has a long way to go.
“His treatment has finished now though and he is in remission, the stay at Castle Hill will be purely for physiotherapy and rehabilitation to get his muscles working, as they’ve been very badly affected.”
She said Kieran is currently having to use a wheelchair, despite having no issues with mobility before his illness, after being bed-bound in ICU due to the severity of his cancer.
Sarah said Kieran, who has Asperger’s syndrome and autism, has “good days and bed days” and has struggled with depression and feeling “fed up” about being in hospital for so long.
But she says he does have times of being “up beat” and it’s a big step forward that he is being transferred to the hospital closer to home.
“He is very much looking forward to coming home,” she said.
“It has been really hard and horrendous, nothing else compares to it. When he’s been sad and depressed you just want to make him feel better, but it’s been hard to do that.
“You just have to take it day by day. But I am so glad that we are where we are today. It’s a massive step forward from where we were six months ago.”
Prior to his diagnosis, Kieran had lost his appetite, but as it coincided with him deciding he wanted to cut back on food to lose weight, his mum just thought he had taken dieting “to the extreme.”
But after complaining of mouth pain, Kieran was then taken to the dentist who raised the alarm after fearing blood cancer.
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Kieran’s friends set up a Facebook page called Ks for Kieran, where they describe him as “the loveliest boy with a huge heart who helps others in any way he can, even though he struggles himself”.
Friends set up a Go Fund Me page to help Kieran’s family, which has now raised over £5,000. To donate to Kieran’s fund, click here.
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