Doctors thought I was abusing my baby – his ‘bruises’ were actually leukaemia
A mother of a child who says she was questioned by doctors about abusing her baby because of his mysterious bruises has revealed how the marks were actually due to leukemia.
Beth Reilly, from Wallasey in Merseyside, first became concerned last October about her son Bailey Kilbane, now 16 months old, when he developed flu-like symptoms and bruises that would not heal.
The 23-year-old claims GPs and hospital doctors dismissed his symptoms as injuries caused by falling over while trying to walk and questioned her instead if she was abusing her own son.
Doctors at Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside finally agreed to carry out a blood test to allay Ms Reilly’s concerns, she said.
The results revealed that Bailey suffered from lymphoblastic leukemia – a cancer of the white blood cells diagnosed in 790 Britons and 6,660 Americans each year.
Beth Reilly from Wallasey, Merseyside, first worried about her son Bailey Kilbane last October
He had 18 bruises, which had been there for more than three weeks, and flu-like symptoms
The 23-year-old mother and her partner Brandon took Bailey to doctors six times before he was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia.
She said, “People always just say you know when your kid isn’t right, and at that exact moment that week I felt that.”
“He smiled, but I could just tell something wasn’t right — you just looked at him and he looked right through you.
“If you’re worried, you have to pressure them to get tests done. I still think back on the experience often and it was horrible being questioned about abusing your own child – but I know they had to do it.
“It made me feel bad and uncomfortable, but I knew I hadn’t done anything to harm him — so I’m glad I’m going through with it.
What violent mother takes her child to the hospital six times a week?
“Bailey is still very happy, but it’s just hard on him – and you can see it. We’re still kind of in denial that he’s actually sick and it’s been months.
“He’s definitely been bumped a bit, he’s exhausted. He’s having trouble eating, so he’s mostly fed through a feeding tube now – it’s just not like what we’re used to.’
Ms Reilly and her partner, Brandon, 23, an electrical engineer, took Bailey to doctors after he suffered 18 bruises on his legs that did not heal for more than three weeks.
Mrs. Reilly’s persistence worried her GP, who referred her to the local hospital for an examination.
At Bailey’s second checkup at Arrowe Park Hospital, the doctors agreed to a blood test.
Doctors returned with the news that Bailey had lymphocytic leukemia.
She said: ‘He ended up with about 18 bruises and I was worried. I took him to the GP and they first told me she thought it was viral.
“I went back for a second time that week and she saw I was concerned so she sent me to Arrowe Park for testing.
‘Because I had no explanation for the bruises, when I was finally referred to the hospital, I was interrogated again and again by two nurses and a consultant together.
“It upset me, but I understood that they just had to do it. At first they said they were not worried and sent me home, but later I came back three more times.
“In the end I said I wasn’t leaving unless they did a blood test, and they agreed to keep him in overnight and ran tests that morning.
“I think it’s because he’s such a happy baby. He doesn’t seem sick because he’s just so smiley.
“And a few hours later the doctor came back with her head down and some other nurses behind her — that’s when I discovered his B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia.”
Despite the regular visits, the mother-of-one claimed doctors at Arrowe Park Hospital, Merseyside, asked her if she was abusing her own son
Bailey has had a bone marrow biopsy, three rounds of chemotherapy and is undergoing a lumbar puncture every two weeks.
The little one spent his first birthday in hospital as he was due to begin chemotherapy
Beth said, “I think it’s because he’s such a happy baby. He doesn’t seem sick because he’s just so smiley’
Bailey has had a bone marrow biopsy, three rounds of chemotherapy and is undergoing a lumbar puncture every two weeks.
A Wirral University Teaching Hospital spokesman said: ‘While we cannot comment on individual cases, to ensure patient confidentiality we can confirm that the Trust has protection procedures in place which follow national law for both adults and children.
“This ensures the safety of the patients under our care and may mean that staff will ask further questions when determining the cause of an illness or injury.
“We recognize that this can be distressing for parents, which is why we make sure they are given the utmost respect when questions are asked.
“We hope that parents and carers will understand that it is a necessary and important aspect of our security responsibilities.”
You can help Bailey recover here.
There are around 391,000 new cancer cases in the UK each year – someone is diagnosed every 90 seconds on average.
MacMillian estimates that there are currently three million people living with cancer in the UK, a figure that is expected to rise to more than five million by 2040.
In the US, the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2021 alone, about two million new cancers were diagnosed and more than 600,000 died.