How brave Doncaster boy, 11, battled back from cancer to help the ward which saved him

At the age of just three, he found himself in hospital fighting serious illness, after being diagnosed with a form of cancer.

With the help of doctors at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, he recovered – and is now the same as every other 11-year-old in his home town of Askern, other than regular check-ups with his doctors.

But Spa Academy pupil Fraizer has never forgotten the help he received on the wards, or the help his family got from the charity PACT – Parents Association of Children with Tumours and Leukaemia. They provided somewhere for his family to stay while he was being treated, and event holidays as he recovered.

And now he is doing his bit to say thank you – by walking 50 miles to raise £1,000 for them.

Mum Katrina Moses remembers the tough times of Fraizer’s illness, describing what he went through as horrendous.

He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2013. He had been suffering problems with walking, his stomach had swollen. Doctors found a tumour the size of a grapefruit.

He was admitted to hospital, and after 80 days chemotherapy the tumour started shrinking. As his treatment continued, he underwent a stem cell transplant, then 16 radiotherapy sessions, and then immune therapy using antibody GD2 before finally being put in remission. His care continues still, with regular check ups from the medical team.

But last week, he decided it was time to give something back to them. And mum Katrina, and dad Ashley Morris, are beaming with pride over his plans.

Katrina said: “He’s just like any other child, although he gets pains in his legs, and he may need a kidney operation later in life.

"But he is doing amazingly, and is treated just the same as any other youngster. He has lots of friends and goes out to play.

“The walk was all his idea. He came downstairs one day and said, ‘mum, I want to do something for the ward that I was on when I was ill’.

"He decided to walk five miles a day until he’d done 50 miles, and we set up a crowdfunding page.”

His sisters Deanne, 18, and Maci-Lea, 10, have accompanied him on the walk, along with his parents. And he has stopped off at the grave of his older brother Jay, who died aged 17 in 2019, so he can feel he was involving him as well.

"The reason he chose PACT is they have fundraised for the ward he was on,” said Katrina. “They were also massively helpful to us. They provided accommodation for us and his brother and sisters, including on one Christmas Day when he had to come in because he had a temperature.

“He got started in the rain. He didn’t mind about the weather. The walk takes a toll on him, and he’s really felt it in his legs. I suggested he took a day off, but he was having none of that.

"I don’t think his father or I could be prouder. I’m bursting with pride and it’s a massive achievement. He does it after a full day at school.”

Fraizer planned to complete his walk on May 19. Click here to sponsor him.

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