Iwan's story

Eleven-year-old Iwan was first referred to The Children's Hospital on 29 September 2009 when he was diagnosed with leukaemia.

Helen, Iwan's mum, explains: "Iwan had been to a friend's birthday party at a roller-skate park and had fallen down and hurt his wrist. Over the weekend it didn't seem to get any better so I made an appointment with the GP.

"I had also noticed that over the previous few weeks Iwan's eyes had become more protruded and I was worried he may have a thyroid problem. I mentioned this to the GP and she referred us for blood tests and asked us to return to see her in two weeks for the results.

"That afternoon we received a call from our GP surgery saying that we needed to take Iwan straight back to our GP. Obviously we were very concerned as to what the problem was but we were totally shocked when the doctor said that there was a high chance that Iwan was suffering from Leukaemia, this was totally out of the blue as Iwan had not felt ill previously and had never been ill. We were told to go straight to The Childrens Hospital where Iwan would be admitted for further tests.

"Iwan was given more tests which confirmed he did in fact have leukaemia and by Thursday 1 October he had a treatment plan, and received his first chemotherapy. He was in hospital initially for a week having treatment.

"Just as we were coming to terms with what had happened and what the treatment would be we were given the news that Iwan was also suffering from another condition which would make it difficult to treat with chemotherapy alone and he would need a bone marrow transplant (BMT) to give him the best chance of survival.

"After three courses of chemotherapy, Iwan was ready for his transplant. His younger brother, Samuel, who was six at the time agreed to have tests to see if he was a match, thankfully he was a near perfect match and the transplant was scheduled for 25 March 2010.

"Sam was admitted to hospital the night before the transplant and taken into theatre to have his bone marrow taken first thing the next morning, Iwan received the stem cells that afternoon.

"Sam was very brave and everything went well and after another night in hospital he was allowed home. We had been told that Iwan would be in isolation which could last for up to eight weeks depending on recovery, we had prepared for the worst, but Iwan had no complications and went from strength to strength and by day 10 he was allowed to go for a short trip to the park across the road, and by day 12 he was allowed home!

"It was truly amazing and Iwan even made it back to school three weeks before the end of term which was really emotional as it was his last days at junior school and he was able to say goodbye to all his friends and teachers.

"Iwan has come on in leaps and bounds since his Bone Marrow Transplant thanks to his little brother Samuel and is now almost at the twelve month post transplant stage.

"The only medicine he takes now is penicillin which will be life long but that's nothing compared to the eight or nine various medicines he had to take three times a day whilst having his treatment and post transplant.

"The care and treatment Iwan received was outstanding, we would like to thank everyone for all their patience and support. It wasn't easy at times but with the help of the doctors and nursing staff he came through this terrible period and we really appreciate all the kindness everyone showed.

"Iwan has a very positive outlook  and if you ask him how he feels now his reply is "just like I was before I got ill". We are so grateful that Iwan is now on the way to leading a normal life and it's all thanks to this wonderful hospital and staff."