A dad has told of the moment a family trip to LEGOLAND went downhill after his son began screaming in 'excruciating pain' - and the devastating diagnosis which followed.
Danny Mitchell, 38, described how his son Zak, 9, had been suffering from on-and-off pains lasting a couple of minutes at a time. But around a month after the pain started, during a trip to LEGOLAND in 2022, the youngster's pain suddenly escalated.
Zak had begun screaming in 'excruciating pain' towards the end of the trip which led the family to take him to Warrington Hospital for a medical assessment.
However, the family received devastating news. Doctors said Zak had an aggressive form of bone cancer after finding a tumour in his tenth rib on his left side.
Talking about the diagnosis, Danny from Leigh, said: "When Zak is well, he is cheeky and full of life, and when we are in hospital, he retreats into himself and likes to be left alone. It took us a month to take him to doctors as the pain was on and off for a couple of minutes a week.
“We took him to Warrington hospital after a trip to LEGOLAND as he was screaming in excruciating pain. He was sent for an MRI and CT scan where they found a tumour on his tenth rib on the left side.
“After the initial diagnosis, Zak had to have Chemotherapy for 2 months – 2 weeks at home, 6 days in hospital – back and forth.”
All seemed to be going well, however, a year later, the family were told that the cancer had returned alongside two brain tumours.
It was expected that Zak would have to visit the hospital for six days of round-the-clock chemotherapy every two weeks.
Currently, Zak has been added to a clinical trial for bone cancer.
He has been prescribed Lenvatinib, a targeted drug that stops signals that tell cancer cells to grow and stops cancer cells from forming new blood vessels, which they need to keep growing.
Despite the constant worries, his parents are positive that they will have more time to spend with their ‘little warrior’. His family and friends are now aiming to help create a lifetime of memories for Zak by travelling around the world and ticking off everything on his bucket list.
Zak and his parents have put together a list of things they would like to do together to create some happy lasting memories – with dreams of visiting the likes of Disneyworld America, The Grand Canyon and even a safari in South Africa after he finishes his six months of chemo and radiotherapy.
“Zak’s a massive adrenaline junkie so it’s no surprise that half of his bucket list is filled with activities. He’s been to Carrington training ground to watch the Manchester United players train and managed to meet them afterwards.
“He even recently got Invited to a 1 on 1 training session with Bruno Fernandes.”
Rachael Cunliffe, a family friend from Golborne, Wigan, is running the Jubilee Bridge Half Marathon in June and hopes to raise £2,000 through her GoFundMe page to motivate Zak through the rest of his treatment.
“I just want to help Zak with his bucket list. He’s best friends with my son Sonny and I’ve known his mum for a long time," she said.
“No family deserves what they are all going through, so I thought of anything that I could do to help raise as much money as possible for such an incredible young man.”
If you would like to help you can visit Zak's JustGiving page here.
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