Boy, 11, had 'tennis ball' tumour

Elaine Grundy • Published 25 Aug 2010 14:00

A PORT Glasgow schoolboy is lucky to be alive after doctors found a tumour almost as big as a tennis ball in his head.

Kyle Axworthy, 11, visited medics just days before he was due to go on holiday to Tenerife because he couldn’t stop being sick.

After a string of consultations, an MRI scan revealed the potentially-deadly growth.

Kyle’s mum, Bernadette, believes her son could have died if they had jetted off abroad without seeking medical help.

She said: “If I had taken him on holiday he could have gone into a coma, or he might not have been here.”

Courageous Kyle, from Moorfield Avenue, has battled his way back to health and enjoyed his first day at high school on Monday - just seven weeks after undergoing life-saving surgery.

He had visited doctors several times in the six weeks before his operation. It was thought the constant vomiting could have been caused by stomach acid.

But none of the treatments he received were successful, and he began complaining of a sore neck.

His frantic family took him back to the doctor when he started screaming with pain, feeling lethargic and losing his balance.

In July, two days before they were due go on holiday, Kyle admitted he was also suffering from blurred vision. His mum said: “He had never told us because he was worried we would take his Xbox away.”

Kyle was immediately referred to Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital for urgent tests. He was alllowed home and attended Inverclyde Royal for an eye examination the following day.

Afterwards, his balance was so badly affected, his plumber dad, David, 51, had to carry him to the car.

Kyle returned to the RAH that afternoon, where an MRI revealed the tumour.

Bernadette, 43, said: “After weeks thinking he had stomach acid, we got quite a shock.”

Kyle was transferred by ambulance to Glasgow’s Southern General and spent five-and-a-half hours in theatre the next day.

Bernadette said: “I have never experienced anything like it in my life.”

After the operation, Kyle’s family faced an anxious six-day wait fearing he may have cancer - and were relieved to learn tests had ruled out the deadly disease.

The schoolboy spent four weeks in hospital before he was allowed home. Three weeks later, he couldn’t wait to join his classmates at Port Glasgow High.

Bernadette, who works in Tesco, said: “He has done really well. I was sitting here while he was at school thinking the phone would ring, but he walked though the door and said ‘It was brilliant. I really enjoyed my day’.”

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This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 25 Aug 10

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