A mum has told of how her ‘whole world turned upside down’ when her two-year-old son’s unsightly bruise turned out to be a rare type of blood cancer.
Zakariyah, known as Zak, from Crawley, stubbed his little toe in May 2022 leaving it sore and pink at first. But within 48 hours, the toe turned purple.
His mother Amina, 40, rushed him to get checked by a pharmacist who initially thought the toe was broken and advised them to go straight to A&E at -East Surrey Hospital.
The toddler was given antibiotics, but when the toe got worse and tuned black, Amina took him back to A&E, where doctors said they suspected his toe was infected.
The medics assumed he had the ‘flesh eating’ disease necrotising fasciitis, a life-threatening infection that can develop within hours and causes blackened limbs.
Zak was rushed to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, South London, and admitted to the intensive care unit. For Amina and her husband Suhaib, the next 48 hours passed in a mind-numbing whirl.
Their son was given strong antibiotics before being told that if the toe didn’t improve, it might need to be amputated. In the worst case scenario, he may lose the whole foot.
‘Nothing was making sense to me, my head was just spinning,’ Amina recalled.
‘It was a very scary time for us all. I felt like we were on an out of control rollercoaster. There were so many doctors and nurses in the room. Suddenly they were talking about putting a port in, to allow bloods to be taken.
‘Luckily, a blood blister formed on the toe. They cut into the skin and black blood came pouring out.
‘The doctors at St George’s kept saying “thank goodness for mother’s instincts”, because I kept pushing for him to be seen.’
The blood test results they received were devastating.
Although they confirmed he did not have a ‘flesh eating disease’, Zak was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia — a rare type of blood cancer that affects about 760 people a year in the UK.
Within two weeks of his cancer diagnosis, Zak was on an intensive programme of chemotherapy and steroids treatment at The Royal Marsden Hospital.
The doses gradually intensified over a three-month period, and at one point Zak was receiving chemotherapy nearly every day — causing his hair to fall out.
Now aged four, every six months he has a lumbar puncture (which involves inserting a needle into the spine), as well as chemotherapy once a month and several other drugs administered at home, as part of his complicated treatment plan.
Amina said: ‘I felt overwhelmed and extremely worried. First thing in the morning we were told he had cancer and that an ambulance was waiting outside. I felt numb. It was all very rushed and happening fast. There was no way and no time to take it all in.
‘We were scared of the unknown. Also we weren’t given enough information a lot of the time and dealing with junior doctors didn’t help at all. We were very scared of what was happening and what was to come.
‘Zak didn’t handle it very well, because he was so little and didn’t understand what was going on.
‘We had a lot of doctors examining him, and as a result he became scared of all the doctors and nurses, absolutely petrified. It took him a long time to get over that.
‘He was too young to describe how he was feeling when being treated and would just cry.’
Being unable to shake off infections, bruising and bleeding easily and having pain in your joints are all tell-tale signs of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Abnormal bruising can be caused by having low platelets, which are a type of blood cell that help the blood to clot, according to Cancer Research UK.
Amina says life with cancer is tough for Zak, with good days and bad days — when he feels sick, his jaw aches and his legs hurt.
But cancer has not dimmed Zak’s vibrant personality. Amina describes her son as ‘playful and such a joy. You never see him upset over anything.
‘Everyone loves Zak. He’s a very active child who loves riding bikes, swimming and playing football. He never sits still.
‘Zak does go to school and absolutely loves it. He can be just himself, a normal little active boy, no-one talks about his cancer. He can’t wait to get up in the morning and get into his uniform.
‘He’s handled his cancer journey amazingly well. He’s a little fighter. From when he couldn’t talk or walk to riding his bike. He’s an inspiration to all of us. Even when he’s feeling down or in pain he carries on and laughs it off.’
Zak’s treatment ends in June 2025 and will be followed by regular check-ups for at least five years.
After the family are given the go-ahead, they are hoping to go on their first holiday in three years with Zak’s older sister Kyra, six.
The four of them are now backing Cancer Support UK’s campaign to provide lavender-scented heatable teddy bears to other children in Zak’s position.
The charity is aiming to send 1,200 warmable sensory bears to children’s cancer wards across the UK, to help deliver a little comfort this festive period.
