Billy Thompson bio je nezaboravno dijete – energičan, nasmijan, volio je ragbi, superheroje i glazbu Freddieja Mercuryja. Njegova obitelj kaže da je imao rijetku sposobnost uljepšati bilo čiji dan samo svojom prisutnošću.
Međutim, početkom rujna 2023. godine blistavi osmijeh ovog dječaka počeo je blijedjeti. Ono što se u početku činilo kao jednostavna dječja tjeskoba zbog odlaska u školu ubrzo se pretvorilo u borbu za život iz koje nije bilo izlaza.
Billyjeva majka, Ellie Thompson, prisjetila se kako je sve počelo:
– Počeo je imati noćne more i žalio se na bolove u trbuhu. Prije škole bi plakao, tresao se i jecao, morali smo ga izvoditi iz auta.
Dječak koji je prije jedva čekao školu odjednom se povukao u sebe. Prestao se igrati s prijateljima, više nije htio ići na treninge, a čak mu ni provođenje vremena sa starijom sestrom Maddy više nije bilo zanimljivo. Njegovi roditelji, Ellie i Jamie Thompson, isprva su vjerovali da je riječ o školskoj anksioznosti. Međutim, njegovo se ponašanje sve brže mijenjalo, piše Kurir.
Billy je postajao sve nestabilniji na nogama, slinio je i izgledao je kao da ima problema da drži oči otvorenima.
– Oči su mu bile teške, umorne... Nešto nije bilo u redu – napisala je Ellie u blogu koji je objavila za The Brain Tumor Charity.
Imao je najagresivniji i neoperabilni oblik tumora
Obitelj je nekoliko puta posjećivala liječnike, ali rezultati su uvijek pokazivali da je sve u redu. Liječnici su tvrdili da dječak pati od anksioznosti. Međutim, 31. listopada 2023. Billy je u školi izgubio ravnotežu i pao. Njegov otac, Jamie, tada je prvi put pomislio na nešto puno ozbiljnije – tumor na mozgu.
Kad je, samo tjedan dana kasnije, dječak ispao iz automobila i pao niz stepenice, roditelji su ga hitno odvezli u bolnicu.
– Kao dijete sam imao encefalitis, tako da znam koliko ozbiljne mogu biti mentalne i fizičke promjene. Počeo sam plakati. Tada su odlučili obaviti skeniranje glave, samo da isključe najgori mogući scenarij – rekao je Jamie.
Nažalost, najgore se ostvarilo.
@ellielexxie Please share 🙏🏻 Meet Billy Thompson, Billy the Brave. He’s a real life superhero. He‘s 4 years old and instead of going to school and having fun with his friends, Billy is battling Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a terminal brain tumour and the most aggressive childhood cancer there is. We noticed something wasn‘t right in September, just as he started school. It began with shifts in behaviour and tummy aches. Night terrors began to haunt his sleep; his legs became weak and his speech slurred. Despite numerous visits to the GP, the consensus leaned towards a food intolerance and school-related anxiety. On 31st October, after he fell down the stairs, I took him to the GP, and unbeknown to Billy, in tears, standing behind him, I mouthed to the doctor, "We think he has a brain tumour!" Ten minutes later, after a brief physical examination and a discussion of all of his symptoms, I was told that it simply wasn‘t possible. I was sent away with a health visitors‘ website for follow-up support. We left the surgery and I felt lost. In my heart, I knew something seriously wasn‘t right. Nobody was listening. That evening we went trick or treating. The four of us dressed up as Ghostbusters at Billy‘s request. We only made it to the end of our road. Exhausted and frustrated, he sat down on the pavement and in tears, told us that he couldn‘t walk any further. Last year he ran around the streets for hours with a bucket overflowing with sweets. That night his bucket wasn‘t even half full. We took him to A&E a week later, and just after 4pm on Tuesday, 7th November our world began to crash down around us. The CT showed a mass in his brain stem and I‘ve watched enough Holby City to know that this was catastrophic. The next 48 hours were pure and absolute hell on earth. We came away in pieces (trying to hold it together for Billy, who had no idea what was going on) with a "dismal" prognosis: zero cure and on average, 9 months to live. Even the consultant was in tears. Thirteen radiotherapy sessions later and a course of steroids to manage the brain swell, Billy is struggling. He‘s unable to walk very well. He‘s suffering from headaches and his speech is slow and slurred. It‘s been 82 days of torture. The clock is ticking, and we need your help. Our "Billy the Brave" campaign aims to support Billy during this heartbreaking time, raising funds to cover our wages and to do nice things for him. We can‘t work. We have the fight of our lives on our hands and it takes up every inch of us. We need to step up fundraising efforts because it‘s increasingly likely that we will need to go overseas to get on one of the most promising trials for DIPG. Time is running out. DIPG is an abhorrently cruel cancer that has to be stopped so that no other child and no other parent has to go through this. Please, please share this story far and wide. Thank you for your donations; they are ALL so gratefully received. Just Giving link in bio or click here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Billys-Journey #dipg #braintumour #braintumor #fcancer #dipgawareness #billythebrave ♬ Soft and minimal instrumental music(1259336) - MaxRecStudio
Nakon snimanja Billy je dobio dijagnozu: difuzni intrinzični pontinski gliom (DIPG) – najagresivniji i neoperabilni oblik tumora mozga kod djece.
– Kad nam je liječnik rekao dijagnozu, plakao je – imao je sina Billyjevih godina. Rekao je da je tumor neoperabilan. Postoji terapija koja može produžiti život, ali kad smo ga pitali kakva je prognoza, samo je rekao: "Tmurna." Tada nam se svijet srušio. To je pakao – mračan i beskrajan – rekla je Ellie.
Prema istraživanju tumora mozga, prosječna stopa preživljavanja za DIPG manja je od godinu dana.
Iako je imao samo četiri godine, Billy se borio nevjerojatnom snagom.
– Prošla godina bila je pakao. Ali Billy‘s Battalion je nešto dobro što je proizišlo iz svega lošeg – rekla je Ellie za BBC Radio Surrey.
Nuspojave su bile strašne
Zaklada je udružila snage s ragbi-klubom Effingham and Leatherhead Eagles, čiji je Jamie bio član. Klub sada priprema kalendar za 2026. godinu, koji će biti posvećen Billyju.
– Billy je volio gledati svoga tatu kako igra subotom. Sanjao je o danu kada će i sam nositi dres. Klub nas je podržao kad je bilo najteže i to nikada nećemo zaboraviti – rekla je Ellie.
Sav prihod od kalendara namijenjen je za istraživanje tumora i klinička ispitivanja DIPG-a.
– DIPG je trenutno smrtna presuda. A to jednostavno ne može biti prihvatljivo – rekla je Ellie, a direktor ragbi-kluba Tony Robinson dodao je: – Željeli smo učiniti nešto što će nasmijati ljude, a istovremeno prikupiti novac za ozbiljan cilj, u spomen na dječaka koji je osvojio naša srca.
– Bio je premalen da bi shvatio što mu se događa, ali znao je da ima "bubu" u glavi – napisala je Ellie.
Prošao je radioterapiju i tretmane steroidima, ali nuspojave su bile strašne – glavobolje, mučnina, umor. Roditelji su ga htjeli uključiti u program imunoterapije u bolnici Great Ormond Street, ali bolest je prebrzo napredovala.
@ellielexxie Please share 🙏🏻 Meet Billy Thompson, Billy the Brave. He’s a real life superhero. He‘s 4 years old and instead of going to school and having fun with his friends, Billy is battling Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a terminal brain tumour and the most aggressive childhood cancer there is. We noticed something wasn‘t right in September, just as he started school. It began with shifts in behaviour and tummy aches. Night terrors began to haunt his sleep; his legs became weak and his speech slurred. Despite numerous visits to the GP, the consensus leaned towards a food intolerance and school-related anxiety. On 31st October, after he fell down the stairs, I took him to the GP, and unbeknown to Billy, in tears, standing behind him, I mouthed to the doctor, "We think he has a brain tumour!" Ten minutes later, after a brief physical examination and a discussion of all of his symptoms, I was told that it simply wasn‘t possible. I was sent away with a health visitors‘ website for follow-up support. We left the surgery and I felt lost. In my heart, I knew something seriously wasn‘t right. Nobody was listening. That evening we went trick or treating. The four of us dressed up as Ghostbusters at Billy‘s request. We only made it to the end of our road. Exhausted and frustrated, he sat down on the pavement and in tears, told us that he couldn‘t walk any further. Last year he ran around the streets for hours with a bucket overflowing with sweets. That night his bucket wasn‘t even half full. We took him to A&E a week later, and just after 4pm on Tuesday, 7th November our world began to crash down around us. The CT showed a mass in his brain stem and I‘ve watched enough Holby City to know that this was catastrophic. The next 48 hours were pure and absolute hell on earth. We came away in pieces (trying to hold it together for Billy, who had no idea what was going on) with a "dismal" prognosis: zero cure and on average, 9 months to live. Even the consultant was in tears. Thirteen radiotherapy sessions later and a course of steroids to manage the brain swell, Billy is struggling. He‘s unable to walk very well. He‘s suffering from headaches and his speech is slow and slurred. It‘s been 82 days of torture. The clock is ticking, and we need your help. Our "Billy the Brave" campaign aims to support Billy during this heartbreaking time, raising funds to cover our wages and to do nice things for him. We can‘t work. We have the fight of our lives on our hands and it takes up every inch of us. We need to step up fundraising efforts because it‘s increasingly likely that we will need to go overseas to get on one of the most promising trials for DIPG. Time is running out. DIPG is an abhorrently cruel cancer that has to be stopped so that no other child and no other parent has to go through this. Please, please share this story far and wide. Thank you for your donations; they are ALL so gratefully received. Just Giving link in bio or click here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Billys-Journey #dipg #braintumour #braintumor #fcancer #dipgawareness #billythebrave ♬ Soft and minimal instrumental music(1259336) - MaxRecStudio
Kako su dani prolazili, njegovo se stanje pogoršavalo. Oko mu se nije otvaralo, nije govorio, snaga ga je napuštala.
– Tumor mu je ukrao osmijeh i pogled. I sve je to prihvatio s nevjerojatnom hrabrošću – napisala je Ellie.
Svjesni da Billy neće doživjeti svoj peti rođendan, roditelji su mu unaprijed organizirali proslavu. Bile su tri torte – s likovima Iron Mana, Marshmallow Mana i Freddieja Mercuryja. Obitelj i prijatelji okupili su se kako bi s njim proslavili njegov život i stvorili njegove posljednje uspomene.
Nažalost, 31. ožujka 2024. Billy je preminuo. Imao je samo četiri i pol godine.
Želeći tragediju pretvoriti u nešto korisno, Ellie i Jamie osnovali su Zakladu Billy‘s Battalion, koja ima za cilj prikupiti sredstva za istraživanje tumora DIPG.
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