A brave teenager has lost his battle with a rare form of cancer.
Danial Graham, 13, from Thurso in the Highlands , had the rare blood cancer myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) which evolved into acute myeloid leukaemia. But despite a courageous fight Danial died on Saturday night.
He had been forced to travel 500 miles a week for treatment on a cancer so rare it affects only four in a million people.
Danial had to make a 250-mile round trip to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness twice a week for blood transfusions and platelets since he was diagnosed with the condition just two months. Medics had been trying to get him fit enough for a bone marrow transplant.
But because he was so weak, he had been picking up infections and was taken into Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
He had been given just a 30 per cent chance of survival but even though he was in a poorly state, second year Thurso High School pupil Danial remained cheerful.
He regularly pranked his chef dad Jamie, 37, by taking the monitor off his finger so the screen went blank to give him a fright.
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Because of the added financial burden to his dad and his granny, Margaret Smith, 53, with all the extra travelling, his aunt Rachel Smith, 25, set up a gofundme page to help.
After Danial’s story appeared in the Daily Record his fund more than trebled to but now the family will use the money to help pay for Danial’s funeral.
Rachel said: “Not long after Danial’s story was in the Record he was put in an induced coma to let his body rest while they tried to get him over his infection.
“He had heart surgery to remove fluid but eventually his lungs started to give up.”
