Joe Yates
The parents of a six-year-old who tragically died from cancer not long after experiencing a symptom most children experience are hoping to raise awareness.
Hugh Menai-Davis passed away in September 2021, soon after being diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer.
Now, his parents Frances and Ceri, aged 40 and 42 respectively, have reflected on their son's eventual diagnosis and hope to raise awareness of the early symptom he had experienced in the fall of 2020.
After Hugh complained of having what appeared to be a swollen stomach, his parents took him for a visit to see the doctor, who simply advised them that he was likely suffering from a 'virus' that would soon disappear in a couple days.
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Believing the young man had a stomach bug they didn't think anything of it until the swelling persisted, at which point they escalated the issues - that was when they discovered every parent's worst nightmare come true.
"Our lives changed forever. The consultant said, we think Hugh's got cancer," Frances told MailOnline.
Soon after Hugh's condition began declining at an alarming rate, the tumor meant that his abdomen was being filled with fluid, which in turn put pressure on his lungs and meant that he was unable to breathe independently.
"My wife and I were in tears behind closed doors," Frances explained.
"Fear is learned, so we didn't want to show him any weakness. We never told him that he wouldn't be alright.
"Hugh faced everything with innocence and ignorance and he was just amazing.
"He never moaned or complained, he just got on with it."
In November 2020, Hugh was discharged from hospital following a successful course of chemotherapy.
When Hugh's condition was somewhat stable, he began a course of chemotherapy in an attempt to kill the cancer, with Frances detailing how his son was 'literally jumping around the house', adding: "We thought we were beating the cancer."
The next few months saw him rushed in and out of hospital before ringing a bell to mark the end of his treatment, which came shortly before his sixth birthday.
Just three and a half months later, Hugh's parents were delivered the devastating news that his cancer had returned and that there was nothing else that could be done to save him.
"When we were told that Hugh was dying," Frances, of England, explained.
"They put a box of tissues behind us and told us that that was it. I asked the question: 'what do I do now?'"
Tragically, just a few weeks later Hugh passed away.
Now, in a bid to raise awareness Frances has urged parents to 'seek the advice of a doctor' if something 'doesn't feel or look right'.
"No one knows your child better than you and the majority of the time it is nothing to worry about, but from our experience it is worth the effort," he added.