WHEN little Rayhan Majid started to complain of nasty headaches, his mum took him to see their GP.
He first started to experience issues in October 2017, with medics saying there was nothing seriously wrong with him.
Mum Nadia Majid and dad Sarfraz knew something was wrong with their little boy and say they took him to the doctor six timesSWNS
The little boy had been experiencing headaches and was also vomitingSWNS
SWNSAfter taking him to A&E he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died months later[/caption]
Mum Nadia said she was dismissed by GPs six times before taking her little boy to A&E.
It was there that further tests revealed the four-year-old had a 3cm x 4cm mass in his brain.
Medics discovered the aggressive grade three medulloblastoma tumour was touching his brainstem.
Less than a year after his diagnosis, Rayhan died on April, 7, 2018 in the arms of his mum Nadia and dad Sarfraz.
Nadia, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, said her little boy had been healthy and active, taking part in swimming, Taekwondo and football.
“He was never sick but, in October 2017, when he was four years old, he woke up crying one evening,” she said.
“When I went to him, he wasn’t quite aware of himself.
“He was clutching his head and saying that it was hot, but I couldn’t make eye contact or get through to him.
“He started to wake up in the night with a headache quite a few times, and he would be sick in the morning.”
Nadia added that it wasn’t a normal sickness, and said her son was retching and bringing up bile.
“That’s when my alarm bells started ringing,” she added.
“We just knew something wasn’t right, so we took him to the doctors, but they were not very helpful.
“They would tickle and play with him, and he would laugh and giggle.”
Rayhan passed the neurological tests with flying colours, and the doctors said he was absolutely fine, Nadia said.
However, his mum said he continued to get sick, with his headaches also increasing.
“Over the course of six weeks, we took him to see four different GPs on six separate occasions.
“When Rayhan watched TV, he kept saying he couldn’t hear it and he turned it up really loud.
“We also noticed when he was walking through doorways in the house, he wasn’t negotiating the door frames very well and he would wobble into them.”
The symptoms of a brain tumour you must know
The NHS states that symptoms of a brain tumour vary depending on the exact part of the brain that is affected.
Guidance states that the key symptoms are:
headaches
seizures (fits)
persistently feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting) and drowsiness
mental or behavioural changes, such as memory problems or changes in personality
progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
vision or speech problems
Sometimes you may not have any symptoms to begin with, or they may develop very slowly over time, guidance states.
You should see a GP if you have these types of symptoms, especially if you have a headache that feels different to your usual ones.
If in doubt, see your GP. In the event of an emergency always call 999 or visit your nearest A&E department.
His parents were convinced there was something wrong, but said they didn’t want to go back to the GPs who had continuously dismissed them.
Eventually, they decided to take him to the A&E at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
Rayhan underwent surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible and his parents were told he would need six weeks of radiotherapy and four months of chemotherapy.
But before the treatment even started, another MRI scan revealed the devastating news that the cancer had spread.
Nadia, who is also mum to Eliza, aged five, and Zak, 14, added: “After the operation Rayhan developed cerebellar mutism and couldn’t speak or walk.
“He went from being this vibrant boy who was full of energy and laughter to being silent and unable to move.
“From his expressions we could see that he was in pain, but he couldn’t tell us what was wrong.”
Despite completing the radiotherapy and his first round of chemotherapy, Rayhan died on April, 7, 2018.
Nadia added: “We held onto our beloved boy and told him how much we loved him until 04:22 on Saturday 7 April when our Rayhan took his last breaths.”
She is now taking on a 10,000 steps a day challenge to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.
Nadia said: “I signed up to Brain Tumour Research’s 10,000 Steps a Day in February challenge along with my sisters, cousins and friends because the campaign resonates so much – walking will always be very symbolic for me as it’s so interlinked with my memories of Rayhan.
“Our Steps for Rayhan fundraiser has an overall target to raise £4,000 for Brain Tumour Research to help bring about better outcomes for brain tumour patients so that families aren’t devastated like ours.
“Thanks to everyone who has donated so far to bring our total already to more than £3,000.”
Matthew Price, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research said: “We’re really grateful to Nadia and the Remembering Rayhan team for taking on our 10,000 Steps a Day in February challenge as it’s only with the support of people like them that we’re able to progress our research into brain tumours and improve the outcome for patients who are forced to fight this awful disease.”