Inspirational Oscar Parry survives six years of leukaemia and three bone marrow transplants
Last updated 8/26/2009 9:24:01 AM
Inspirational Oscar Parry survives six years of leukaemia and three bone marrow transplants
After six years of fighting Leukaemia and three bone marrow transplants, little Oscar Parry and his parents can finally look forward to a bright future.
On his third birthday, Oscar was diagnosed with leukaemia and started receiving treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital. It was a particularly difficult time for his parents, Phil and Yvonne Parry, who needed a great deal of support. "
"We coped with the help of friends and family," explains Yvonne. "Looking back, I don't know how we managed, but you just do. You get on with it."
To begin with, Oscar was treated with low doses of chemotherapy, which worked well. However, after his blood counts dropped, he was diagnosed with a rarer type of leukaemia - that could only be cured by a bone marrow transplant.
Unfortunately no one in his family was a compatible match and Oscar has to wait three months for a donor. Once one was found he was admitted to Fox Ward and the bone marrow transplant took place.
To begin with, things looked good, but when Oscar's blood counts remained low even after the transplant, he underwent another operation to remove his spleen. Happily, this improved things. Then, with Oscar all set to go home, his leukaemia came back more aggressively, and a second transplant was needed.
Yvonne remembers this as the family's lowest ebb. "The time we spent in hospital was really tough," she says. "There were times when Oscar was in intensive care and we thought he wouldn't make it. It was numbing."
Despite his illness, Oscar had no problems making friends during his long spells in hospital. "Oscar loved the staff - he built really good friendships with people, and still keeps in touch with many of them," says Yvonne. "We look forward to coming for clinics. It sounds strange, but it's nice to come back - it feels like coming home."
Following the second transplant, Oscar had to battle against graft-versus-host disease (where the new donor cells start to fight the host) and his doctors gave him just a 10 per cent chance of surviving.
In order to cure the problem, he became the first child in Britain to receive a new type of stem cell treatment. During this treatment, Phil and Yvonne had to come up with ways to keep his spirits up.
"We brought him videos, board games and arranged visits from friends," says Yvonne. But even little things could lift Oscar's mood, she says, adding: "A big treat was when we went to Waitrose and he could choose his own dinner."
Oscar was successfully cured of the graft-versus-host disease and he was finally able to go home in 2007, returning to school last year. Today, under the care of the long-term follow-up clinic, Oscar is well on the road to recovery. "I never thought we'd get here," says Yvonne. "Oscar's been on medication for so long, but now we have a normal family life."
The Parrys are doing their bit to help the charity to raise funds for more research. And with a little help from his dad, Oscar put together a presentation to tell his school all about his illness."We just want to carry on as we are," says Yvonne. "If it doesn't get any better than this, I'll be happy!"
For more information go to http://www.gosh.org
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