08/09/2026
💛 Go Gold, Childhood cancer awareness month 💛
***Trigger warning***
James was originally diagnosed with MPAL on 24th December 2000 at 1 year old. He was put into ICU, and after 24 hours of chemotherapy, he had a major stroke which paralysed his right side. This was then followed by seizures. James remained at Addenbrooke’s with no option to go home until April 2021.
After six intensive rounds of chemotherapy, James’s leukaemia was getting worse. The form he has is extremely rare — only 8% of cases worldwide — and no one really knows how to treat it. James’s only chance, they said, was to find a 100% bone marrow donor, but we had just two weeks, and it felt like finding a needle in a haystack. After testing all the children, unbelievably, Faith, his oldest sister, was a 100% match — something very rare.
He was transferred to Bristol Children’s Infirmary for the transplant, and Faith had 2 litres of bone marrow extracted from her back. By late 2021, James finally came home. Everything seemed to have worked, but he would be monitored very closely every month until he was 16.
Unfortunately, on 30th September 2023, James relapsed, and options were now very limited. A professor at Manchester Children’s Hospital was running a stem cell trial using baby cords for advanced and difficult cancers, and he offered to take James. After two weeks of intensive chemotherapy, we were supposed to go, but James became very unwell. During a regular LP, James aspirated under anaesthetic and was sent to ICU immediately.
After a couple of hours, James became extremely poorly and was kept in a coma. 24 hours later, he developed sepsis, and slowly that day his organs began to fail. James was now being kept alive by total life support. After many weeks on this, the consultants called us in to say they couldn’t do any more. They felt another infection they found had spread to his brain, and even if he survived, he was no longer a candidate for Manchester.
I fought my corner, demanding MRIs and bone marrow aspirates to see where he was. I asked everyone I knew — even strangers on social media — to pray and light candles. I feel very strongly about my faith, and something told me this was not the end. Thanks be to God, I was right. His prayers were answered. All tests came back clear — even the leukaemia had gone. It left doctors astonished.
They slowly woke him up, and James remained very, very sick for many months. His weight was that of a 6‑month‑old baby, but we fought on. Manchester were still keen to take him if we could get his weight up, and on 4th January 2024, he was transferred to Manchester Children’s Hospital. He received the stem cell transplant on 11th January 2024. This was hard, as it initially made James very sick.
After 12 weeks in hospital, we were transferred to Ronald McDonald House in Manchester so they could monitor him. He finally came home at Easter 2024. There were still lots of tests each week and monthly biopsies, but he truly is a miracle — a warrior like them all.
Today, James is still watched closely every month. Unfortunately, he now has epilepsy on both sides of the brain, but we are just so glad he is here with us. This is James’s story.
During the last five years, James and his brothers and sisters have been very fortunate and have had some lovely support from charities. But the charity that is always in our minds is CCPA. From the first time James was diagnosed until now, they have been amazing with their support — craft and art supplies, and gifts, especially at Christmas.
When young children were left at home with their mum gone on and off for a few years, you never thought you would see a smile on their faces. But when a box arrived with their names on it, their faces lit up. CCPA are absolutely amazing, putting smiles back on children’s faces. Thank you. 🎗
(written by his mum Ann-Maire)
