A mother is urgently appealing for people to join the stem cell register, hoping to find a cure for her baby son, Ronnie.
Diagnosed with a rare blood condition a week before his first birthday, Ronnie's mother, Laura, first noticed increased bruising as he began crawling.
The one-year-old was subsequently diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a severe condition fatal if left untreated. This rare illness, where bone marrow fails to produce enough new blood cells for the body to function normally, affects around 100 to 150 people in the UK annually.
Laura, 30, said: “He had only just started crawling, then three days later when I got him up, he had blood coming from his nose, blisters in his mouth, and red dots on his body.”
Ronnie was rushed to hospital where medics initially suspected he had leukaemia, a type of blood cancer.
He was then taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool for blood and platelet transfusions.
“The room went quiet, our hearts were pounding, and then instantly our minds were jumping to the worst-case scenario and thinking how is my 11-month-old meant to battle such a deadly disease at such a young age,” Laura said.
“This is a day that will forever be engraved in our minds, every time we hear sirens now it takes us back to that night of being blue lighted to Alder Hey.”
Cancer was later ruled out, although doctors were struggling to test Ronnie’s bone marrow as it was so sparse.
The family was told his levels were at 5% with very few cells, when a baby his age should have 100%.
A second test eventually revealed Ronnie had aplastic anaemia and his parents were told a bone marrow transplant would be his only hope of a cure.
Aplastic anaemia can affect anyone at any age, but is more common in people aged between 10 and 20, and those over 60.
Symptoms include tiredness, shortness of breath, headaches, bleeding from the nose or gums, and infections.
Laura said her son is still “happy and smiling” despite having infusions and injections to stimulate his bone marrow production.
However, there is also a worry over infections as Ronnie has been diagnosed with neutropenia.
This causes a type of white blood cell that is essential for fighting bacterial infections to become abnormally low.
The family is working with the charity Anthony Nolan on the Register4Ronnie campaign.
They hope this will encourage more people to join the stem cell register to help children like Ronnie, as well as youngsters with other conditions such as leukaemia.
“Now we have a diagnosis we have to do something to help,” Laura said.
“There are so many other kids out there who need a match, we are putting it out there for Ronnie and to educate people about the lifesaving potential of stem cell transplants.
“Being from Merseyside, we all stick together from here.
“We’re sharing Ronnie’s story because we want people to get tested, if a match comes up for him then great, but a match for someone else, that’s amazing as well.”
Joining the Anthony Nolan register is free and is aimed at people aged between 16 and 30.
After registering online, the charity will send out a swab pack, which can be posted back once completed.
Laura added that the family is also aiming to raise awareness of aplastic anaemia, adding: “No-one’s heard of it.”
Rowena Bentley, head of programme and community recruitment at Anthony Nolan, said: “It’s heartbreaking that baby Ronnie and his family are going through this, and we are doing our best to support them.
“At Anthony Nolan we give hope to families affected by blood cancers and disorders, but we can’t do it without the lifesavers that sign up to our register.
“If you are aged 16-30, please sign up to the Anthony Nolan register online and send back your swabs.
“You could be the match that someone like baby Ronnie needs to survive.”
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