A devastated mother who took her son to hospital with a suspected sore leg had her world shattered when it turned out to be a fatal tumour.
Georgia Barber's world was left "spinning" when she took her 15-month-old son Bobby to A&E when she noticed he was dragging himself across the floor and had a limp.
Initially, health professionals thought it was a fracture and the tot was sent home in a cast, Manchester Evening News reports.
But the pain continued, and Georgia, from Rochdale, returned to A&E demanding tests be carried out.
After the pair were sent to Manchester Children's Hospital, doctors found a tumour on the youngster's pelvis which had grown through his spinal chord and caused nerve damage.
Bobby was put onto a chemotherapy course which showed signs of hope and with a few weeks his condition improved dramatically.
The tot was now able to stand up by himself and walk using a Zimmer frame.
But sadly, a year after his first diagnosis in May 2022, the limp returned and a scan confirmed the tumour had returned.
Despite being put on chemotherapy again, it didn't work and he was left in agony before he passed away on September 4, 2022.
Speaking about the heartbreaking ordeal, the 27-year-old mum said: “It was absolutely awful. I knew when I was in that hospital room, I had to have positive vibes around me and be positive for Bobby.
“But there was a time I had to go to the bathroom and ask a nurse to stand with him because I knew if he had seen me upset and crying like that, he would have known there was something wrong. I tried to be strong for him.”
Bobby’s cancer, called rhabdomyosarcoma or RMS, is a type of sarcoma cancer that affects the muscles attached to the bone.
Georgia continued: “It was a huge shock. I felt like my whole world stopped turning. I was so angry.
"When someone tells you that, it’s something you hear on the news or on social media and you feel sorry for them.
“You think, ‘Gosh, I’m thankful that’s not my baby,’ and when it happens it’s absolutely heartbreaking. It feels like your heart has been ripped out of your chest because you’re absolutely helpless. Because there’s nothing you can do about it.
“It’s always just been me and Bobby. So being a single mum on my own, I had support from my mum and dad. But it was even more terrifying knowing I had to do it on my own, just me and Bobby.
“He was in so much pain, he couldn’t even get out of bed. We stayed in hospital from July to September and Bobby passed away while we were there. We learned [the cancer] had spread to his lungs as well.”
After Bobby's passing it was revealed he had a rare genetic condition which can increase the chances of getting a tumour.
Georgia doesn't want any other parent to go through what she had to and praised her son's "strength, bravery and resilience".
She is now set to do a 10k charity run later this year for the oncology ward at Manchester Children’s Hospital which helped care for Bobby.
