A Scottish teenager who was rushed to hospital with suspected dehydration following a severe "sickness bug" was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
James Rendall, 14, went into hospital at the beginning of May and has been there ever since after he was given the devastating news.
The young and healthy schoolboy had been experiencing severe sickness but is now staying at the Sick Kids hospital in Edinburgh after an MRI scan revealed he was suffering from a brain tumor, reports Edinburgh Live.
The tumour was removed but the family, who are from the Borders, were given a blow on James' 15th birthday when doctors confirmed it was cancerous.
Susan Mayo, the youngster's gran, said the family had initially thought he needed new glasses after developing headaches.
She said: "Hindsight is a great thing, because looking back he had been suffering with occasional headaches and a bit of an issue with his eyes, but we thought he just needed glasses.
"But with everything going on opticians were only open for emergency appointments only so he had never went.
"Then he was sent home from school after being quite sick, but there was a sickness bug going round so they just thought he had an extreme case of it.
"But that was the Tuesday, and by the Sunday he was still deteriorating and couldn't keep water down, so his mum Debbie took him to the hospital."
While he is recovering well after the four and a half hour op to remove the tumour, the teen will now have to undergo gruelling rounds of chemo and radiotherapy.
"Before the operation he was a very active young man", said Susan.
"He loved cross country running, gaming, seeing his friends.
"But now he has suddenly gone to being like someone who has had a stroke in terms of his behaviour, he's tired and is now weaker on his left hand side.
"However, he's been doing so well and is improving more every day, you can tell he's getting better because he's eating like a horse and getting grumpy", Susan joked.
James' parents, Debbie and Louis, have been staying by his side in Edinburgh and are living between the hospital and their home in the Borders.
Susan has launched a fundraiser to support the couple with bills and travel during the "traumatic time".
Susan said: "Right now we're staying positive, but we don't know what the results will be, and if he'll be ringing that bell soon or if he'll need more treatment after that.
"At the end of the month you can be running on the fumes of your pay cheque, and it's a long journey coming back and forth from the Borders.
"Their work are being great just now but who knows how long this will go on for in terms of being off of work, and I want to give them the funds so that they can focus on James and the last thing they have to worry about is money because they will have this little cushion.
"But James is strong and a fantastic boy, we're all trying to stay positive and even though he got that awful news on his 15th birthday, the good thing is is that he was still here to see it.
"We have been keeping each other going and when one of us is down we give them a hug and pick them up to keep going."
To donate to James's fundraiser, you can find the link here.
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