A healthy two-year-old boy had an easy-to-ignore symptom; his parents ignored it at first, but tests later revealed it was cancer

A mother has told how her ‘whole world was turned upside down’ when her two-year-old son’s ugly bruise turned out to be a rare form of blood cancer.

Zakariyah, known as Zak, from Crawley, stubbed his little toe in May 2022, initially causing it to become painful and pink. But within 48 hours the toe turned purple.

His mother Amina, 40, rushed him to be examined by a pharmacist who initially thought the toe was broken and advised them to go straight to East Surrey Hospital A&E.

The toddler was given antibiotics, but when the toe got worse and turned black, Amina took him back to the emergency room, where doctors said they suspected his toe was infected.

Medics assumed he had the “flesh-eating” disease, necrotizing fasciitis, a life-threatening infection that can develop within hours and cause blackened limbs.

Zak was rushed to St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London, and admitted to intensive care. For Amina and her husband Suhaib, the next 48 hours passed in a mind-numbing whirl.

Their son was given powerful antibiotics before being told that if the toe did not improve, it may need to be amputated. In the worst case, he could lose the entire foot.

“Nothing made sense to me, my head was just spinning,” Amina recalled.

‘It was a very frightening time for all of us. I felt like we were on a rollercoaster out of control. There were so many doctors and nurses in the room. Suddenly they were talking about building a gate so that blood could be drawn.

‘Fortunately, a blood blister developed on the toe. They cut the skin and black blood flowed out.

‘The doctors at St. George’s kept saying, ‘Thank God for mother’s instincts,’ because I kept insisting he be seen.”

The blood test results they received were devastating.

Although they confirmed he did not have a ‘flesh-eating disease’, Zak was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia – a rare form of blood cancer that affects around 760 people in Britain every year.

Within two weeks of his cancer diagnosis, Zak completed an intensive program of chemotherapy and steroid treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

The doses were gradually intensified over a three-month period, and at one point Zak was receiving chemotherapy almost every day, which caused his hair to fall out.

Now four, he receives a lumbar puncture (where a needle is inserted into the spine) every six months, chemotherapy once a month and several other medications administered at home as part of his complicated treatment plan.

Amina said: ‘I felt overwhelmed and extremely worried. Early in the morning we were told that he had cancer and that an ambulance was waiting outside. I felt numb. It all happened very hurriedly and quickly. There was no way and no time to take it all in.

‘We were afraid of the unknown. We also often did not receive enough information and dealing with doctors in training did not help at all. We were very afraid of what was happening and what was going to happen.

‘Zak didn’t deal with it very well because he was so small and didn’t understand what was going on.

‘We had many doctors examining him, and as a result he became afraid of all the doctors and nurses, absolutely petrified. It took him a long time to get over that.

‘He was too young to describe how he felt when he was being treated and just cried.’

Not being able to shake off infections, bruising and bleeding easily, and having pain in your joints are all telltale signs of acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Abnormal bruising can be caused by low platelets, a type of blood cell that helps the blood to clot, according to Cancer Research UK.

Amina says living with cancer is tough for Zak, with good days and bad days – when he feels sick, his jaw hurts and his legs ache.

But cancer hasn’t dimmed Zak’s vibrant personality. Amina describes her son as “playful and so joyful. You never see him get angry about anything.

‘Everyone loves Zak. He is a very active child who loves cycling, swimming and playing football. He never sits still.

‘Zak does go to school and absolutely loves it. He can just be himself, a normal, active boy, no one talks about his cancer. He can’t wait to get up in the morning and put on his uniform.

“He has handled his cancer journey amazingly well. He’s a little fighter. From the moment he could no longer talk or walk to cycling. He is an inspiration to all of us. Even when he feels down or in pain, he carries on and laughs it off.”

Zak’s treatment will end in June 2025 and will be followed by regular check-ups for at least five years.

After being given the green light, the family hope to go on holiday for the first time in three years with Zak’s older sister Kyra, aged six.

The four of them are now supporting Cancer Support UK’s campaign to provide lavender-scented heated teddy bears to other children in Zak’s position.

The charity aims to send 1,200 warm sensory bears to children’s cancer wards across the UK to provide a little comfort this festive period.