My toddler’s symptom was fobbed off as ‘holiday hay fever’ – I was horrified when the real cause was discovered
CAROLE Lawrie was horrified when her son’s leukaemia was missed -doctors brushed off his swollen eye as hay fever.
“If I hadn’t gone back [the third time] and pushed to be seen further, who knows where we would be,” the 40-year-old mum claims.
Carole from just outside of Perth, Scotland, grew worried about her son Hugo’s swollen right eye after they returned from a family holiday in the South of France.
Post-holiday snaps show her tiny tot’s right eye partially closed with a lump under the eyelid in August 2023.
“I just thought it was an infection as he had been absolutely fine on holiday,” she said.
But when the now three-year-old’s eye symptom persisted, the mum-of-eight took him to see a GP to get it checked out.
“The doctors and they said it was just a virus and not anything,” she recalled.
“I’m not against the GPs but I felt like they didn’t take any notice of the fact that I thought there was something else underlying.”
Two days later, Hugo woke up and his eye looked worse.
“Underneath there was a hard lump about the size of a five-pence piece and it was a little swollen like an infection,” Carole said.
“I took him to the GP and they told me to keep cleaning his eye and it’s just a virus or hayfever,” she added.
It was only when Carole booked a third doctor’s appointment the same day and pushed for another opinion, that Hugo was sent to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
After his bloods were taken, Hugo was transferred to Edinburgh Royal Hospital where he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia following an MRI scan and a biopsy.
On the NHS website, acute myeloid leukaemia is an aggressive form of cancer which requires immediate treatment and left untreated can be life-threatening.
He underwent three rounds of chemotherapy and underwent a stem cell transplant at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
Following his treatment, Hugo is now cancer-free and an MRI scan in January 2025 confirmed he is still in the all-clear.
Carole is now urging other parents to advocate for their children’s health.
She said: “I would say to parents to keep pushing [at the doctors].
“We had a few junior doctors come into the hospital when Hugo was there and I told them to always listen to the parents and to never dismiss what they are saying as we know our kids better than anyone else.”
She added: “It really annoyed me. You shouldn’t have to fight and push this hard when you know something is wrong.
“If a parent is coming at you saying something is wrong with their child, you should listen.”
In March 2024, Hugo was discharged from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and has been enjoying life at home with his family ever since.
WHAT IS ACUTE MYELOID LEUKAEMIA?
ACUTE myeloid leukaemia is a type of blood cancer that affects the immune system's white blood cells.
The causes of the disease are not well understood and it usually cannot be prevented. Previous chemotherapy, exposure to radiation or smoking could raise the risk.
It is a rare type of cancer and affects around 3,100 people each year in the UK, and 2,700 people die from it annually.
AML is an aggressive form of cancer and often needs urgent treatment with chemotherapy and possibly a bone marrow transplant.
Symptoms of the disease include:
- Paleness
- Concerning tiredness or weakness
- Often feeling breathless for no reason
- Getting regular infections
- Unexplained weight loss
- Unexplained bleeding and/or bruising
Source: NHS
Carole says Hugo will have to be on medication for life but is a happy, healthy three-year-old.
Carole said: “He’s clear from cancer now but they had to wait until we got a few MRI scans that said it was clear [to confirm this].
“He’s out playing football and golf and loves riding his bike. If you didn’t know he had cancer, you wouldn’t know when you look at him.”