Leeds mum in fundraising appeal after brave four-year-old son endures 13-hour surgery on brain tumour

Rachael Kelly, 28, from Leeds, took her son Jaxon March to a walk-in centre with symptoms of tiredness, feeling dizzy, sickness, severe pain at the back of his head and a sore throat - which doctors originally put down to a viral infection.

But after spending three weeks trying to get proper attention, Jaxon was eventually seen by a doctor, who noticed a mysteriously bulging head. He was immediately sent for further tests, which revealed a malignant brain tumour called Ependymoma.

Jaxon soon underwent a 13-hour surgery at Leeds General Infirmary to remove the tumour and is now facing six and a half weeks of proton therapy, which requires him to be put to sleep for 45 minutes to an hour every day.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Rachael said: “I knew something was wrong but I just didn’t expect it to be anything like that. I was just so scared the whole time - I kept asking the desk to ring through to theatre and check he was alright.

“We were told that it would be a seven to eight hour operation but it ended up being 13-hours as it was attached to his brain stem so they had to be so careful. The hospital has honestly been amazing - I really can’t fault how much they’ve done for my little boy.”

The family are set to move to Manchester for Jaxon’s proton therapy - a radiation treatment that precisely delivers a beam of protons to destroy tumour cells.

Set up by Rachael’s cousin Melissa, the family has launched a GoFundMe which has already raised over £6,500.

Rachael added: “His dad and I have had to take time out of work and our family were on at us to get help so my cousin Melissa set it up and within a day it had reached £4,000 and is now at over £6,000.

“You just don’t expect for the community to pull together like that and do something like that for my son. We are so lucky as already we don’t have to stress about the burden of the financial pressure.”

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The campaign aims to raise funds for Jaxon’s treatment-related costs, including travel, food, bills, and to help make his life as enjoyable as possible during this challenging time.

Jaxon is due to start proton therapy within the next four weeks and doctors are hopeful of a full recovery if the treatment works.