Parents celebrate their son's birthday as two-year-old battles liver cancer

The parents of a two-year-old boy fighting liver cancer have spoken of their joy at seeing him on his second birthday.

Jaxon Barnes was diagnosed with stage 3 Hepatoblastoma.

What followed was a full year of chemotherapy, relapses and sleepless nights driving to and from the RVI in Newcastle for treatment.

Hayley Barnes, Jaxon’s mum, said: “We had to have conversations with the consultant about palliative care and to be told that potentially Jaxon might not make to see a second birthday. And that was that was difficult.

“It's amazing to be in this situation where potentially we weren't going to be. And, you know, he's had a second birthday and is a happy, healthy little toddler now. And it's fantastic. You know, we just take every day is blessed."

Before Jaxon was even a year old, he had already seen more of a hospital than most hope to in a lifetime.

His dad Andy said: "When they first said he's got liver cancer you know, it's not what he's saying. And it took me personally a long time to kind of accept it.

"There's a lot of times when we were we would drive into Newcastle and those times as well when when you come home from Newcastle, you think, oh, I'll get some peace. 

"He had a temperature and you just got to find that, that peace inside. You say a lot. You just got to soldier on and keep going."

One year on from his diagnoses, Jaxon's liver tests are returning as normal and he is officially in remission. His family are glad that he could celebrate his second birthday, his first out of a hospital bed.

Zillah Bingley, Chief Executive at the Rainbow Trust, said: “For this family there was a significant emotional rollercoaster. And so the importance of having someone who's a non-family member there to allow you to offload your feelings is just so strong.

"They get them to share how they're feeling. They play with them. They from a practical perspective, they take them to and from school so that the siblings routine can continue even when family life has changed so significantly."

With a year of turbulence, the family has struggled to maintain normality for Jaxon's big sister Jessica.

Emma Mahoney a Rainbow Trust family support worker said: “When you've got a child, you have a lot of the parents attentions on that sick child. And so for Jessica to have a little bit one on one time makes her feel like she's the important one at that time.

"It can be hard for parents to then know that that's happening. And the don't know how to help. So that's where we come in."

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