"FIT and healthy" Reid Scanlon loved spending time outdoors and had "no fear" about playing rough.
The five-year-old spent a day with his childminder in Cardiff and took a tumble in the park.
Reid later complained of tummy pains following his fall on August 17.
When those didn't go away, his mum Alison Scanlon decided to take him to A&E.
There, nurses told the mum-of-four that Reid could have an issue with his spleen.
But nothing could have prepared Alison for the shocking truth.
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Further tests at Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital at University Hospital Wales found a tumour the size of a grapefruit in Reid’s left kidney that had been growing for months, Wales Online reported.
Alison said she couldn't believe the news in that moment, and remembered just looking her little boy and crying.
Little Reid was diagnosed then with Wilm's tumour – also known as nephroblastoma – a rare type of kidney cancer that mainly affects children.
About 85 kids up to the age of 14 are diagnosed it with every year, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
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It affects both kidneys in less than 10 per cent of those cases.
Devastatingly, Reid's family were told on August 24 that the tot was one of those 10 per cent, as he has several smaller tumours in his right kidney.
"Until that day, we thought if it's his left kidney, they can operate, he's still got his right kidney to see him through but that's not the case," Alison told Sky News.
The mum said she was thankful her little one fell over in the park that day, as it ended up bringing his cancer to light.
Alison doubted it would have been discovered until much later, as Reid showed "absolutely no signs" that anything was wrong, as he'd been his usual "bright, happy, cheerful" self, wrestling his brother just the day before.
The tot's tumble caused the mass in his kidney to bleed, providing a vital red flag that all was not well.
"So if he hadn't have fallen, probably today we'd be none the wiser until a few months down the line it would have started showing out of his stomach," Alison added.
According to CRUK, most Wilm's tumours are quite large by the time they are found, often bigger than the kidney itself.
The swelling is usually painless and parents might notice a lump in their tot's tummy when bathing them or if they jump a nappy size.
Other less common symptoms include:
- bleeding inside the tumour causing pain
- blood in the urine – found in 20 per cent of children with a Wilms tumour
- raised blood pressure
- high temperature
- loss of appetite
- weight loss
- feeling or being sick
- shortness of breath and cough (only if the cancer has spread to the lungs)
- generally feeling unwell
- looking pale due to a low number of red blood cells (anaemia)
- being irritable due to their tummy feeling uncomfortable
CRUK emphasised that Wilm's tumour is very rare and that it doesn't mean your child has one if they're suffering from these symptoms.
Take your child to a GP to have these symptoms looked into if you notice them.
Reid is now due to start six weeks of chemotherapy treatment and other alternative treatment options in the hope that his tumours will shrink for his kidneys to be operated on, Wales Online said.
For the time being, Alison and her family are doing the best to stay positive for Reid despite their worry.
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"The consultant has told us treatment is available for Reid and we’re hopeful it will work," she said.
The tot's family has started a GoFundMe to support Reid through his treatment.
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