Our Pal - Niko B

Story Written 2023

In February 2022 Niko’s and his family’s world was flipped upside down when at the age of just two years old, he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, an aggresive type of blood cancer.

Niko was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital where he immediately started recieving blood tests, blood product transfusions and other urgent procedures including genetic testing, bone marrow tests, lumbar punctures, blood tests, antibiotics, steroids and high intensity chemotherapy. The family were told that Niko’s treatment plan would last at least 3 years and that it would involve 13 rounds of chemotherapy. A long and draining future lay ahead.

By mid March 2022, Niko’s treatment was so intense, with so many negative side effects, that he stopped walking, playing and being able to move independently. After a period of investigation and tests, adjustments to his medication, consultations with physiotherapy and special aids, Niko recovered some of his mobility around the end of April. His mobility however, still isn’t 100%. He can only walk a few steps and always needs someone to hold his hand. Niko continues to be very weak, gets very tired after just a few steps and his legs often just give way underneath him meaning that he falls over a lot.

There then followed other phases of treatment which once again involved a lot of hospital admissions and more chemotherapy, during which time Niko lost his hair for the fourth time. It was a relief to find out at the end of this phase that, althought by no means the end of the road, Niko was considered to be in remission.

It was an extremely scary and emotional time for the family.

Since September, Niko has started the last phase of his treatment. All going well, this phase will last 2 years. At this point in treatment, Niko has daily chemotherapy at home to try and prevent any remaining cancer cells from reproducing and taking over again. Niko visits his local hospital, Colchester General Hospital weekly for blood tests and every four weeks for IV chemotherapy and steroids pulses. He continues to attend Great Ormond Street Hospital for further checks as well as having lumbar punctures and infused chemotherapy into the spinal cord and fluid around the brain every 3 months.

Niko has suffered from all of the side effects and after many neurological difficulties, we discovered that it takes Niko around 2-3 weeks longer to recover from those side effects thant he average child meaning that he is generally always under additional treatment with pain relief and antibiotics.