Boy, 3, with leukaemia misses Christmas after being rushed to hospital

Mason Tozer later suffered two cardiac arrests at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle but his mum, Kerry Nichols, said he is now making progress and is starting to be taken off ventilation.

The brave tot had returned home to Blennerhasset from the RVI in Newcastle to spend Christmas with his family after being diagnosed with leukaemia on December 1.

His mum Kerry Nichols said: “We were in the RVI for two weeks. We got back home the Wednesday before Christmas and then on the Friday he started with a temperature.

“We took him to the West Cumberland Hospital and they did some tests. His breathing deteriorated and they ended up ventilating him. His blood pressure dropped.

“He was transported to the Freeman Hospital and he went into cardiac arrest for 18 minutes. They managed to get him back. It was really touch and go for a few days.”

Mason then suffered a second cardiac arrest after his Ecmo tubes popped out but he is now stable.

Mason Tozer, 3, is battling leukaemia (Image: Kerry Nichols)

Kerry said: “We got a call at half seven in the morning and I don’t think I’ve ever power walked so quickly in my life. They said he had gone into cardiac arrest but they had managed to get him back and were confident it hadn’t caused any issues with his heart or lungs.

“He’s come off Ecmo. He’s still ventilated and on dialysis but he’s taken a lot of breaths himself now. They reduced his sedation so he’s a little bit more awake. He makes eye contact and squeezes your hand.

“His heart function is really good so they are happy with that and they are just waiting for a bed to be available at the RVI so he can be transferred back over there and go back to his treatment for leukaemia.”

Mason’s parents are currently staying at Scott House which provides accommodation for families of sick children who are being treated at the Freeman Hospital.

They were able to come home on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas Day with Mason’s siblings Keira and Riley. Kerry returned to Newcastle the following night to be with Mason.

She said: “The nurses looked after him really well. Riley asked as soon as we came back where Mason was.

“He asked what we were doing with his presents so I said we would just put them to one side and when Mason came out of hospital we would have a whole new Christmas Day just for Mason and have his favourite meal.”

Mason's Christmas presents unopened next to the tree (Image: Kerry Nichols)

Kerry said Mason’s leukaemia diagnosis had come as a “complete shock”.

She said: “A few weeks before, he’d had a couple of bruises on his legs and nose bleeds. As you do, you Google it. It came up with leukaemia and I switched it off immediately.

“I took him to the doctor’s on November 30 because he was having trouble walking. He was stumbling a lot and had a lot of bruises on his legs.

“They took him over to Carlisle for blood tests. They found that the white blood cells were infected with leukaemia.

“They transferred us right over to the RVI. They gave us the official diagnosis of leukaemia on December 1 and he started his treatment on December 3.

“He’s on six months of intensive chemotherapy and then 18 months of maintaining therapy.”

Kerry said the family were grateful for all the support they had received from the community.

She said: “The community support has been fantastic. Mason is autistic so we don’t really join in with social things in the village because it’s hard work with him.

“We didn’t expect the support we got. Everyone in the village has been fantastic. They are constantly messaging to see if there is anything we need. It’s been brilliant.”

A GoFundMe page set up to support the family has now topped £3,000 and the village pub held a Christmas party to raise money.

To donate, go to: www.gofundme.com/f/mason-cancer-battle