'Any time tomorrow his bone marrow could start rejecting, but you learn to live with it'
IN his seven years, Joe Randall has endured more problems than most people experience in a lifetime.
He was just three when he was diagnosed with leukaemia, although the diagnosis was later changed to myelodysplastic syndrome – a rare disease in children which effects the production of blood cells.
Joe was diagnosed after a blood test revealed a dangerously low score. A bone marrow transplant was going to be necessary.
"Any lower and he would have been in intensive care with his organs shutting down," his mum, Lisa, of Hatfield Avenue, Mansfield, said.
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"It was heartbreaking. In a way, were relieved because we knew that something was wrong.
"He had to have a transplant because the condition was so severe."
Joe, who has one older brother, had the bone marrow transplant in November 2011, after a donor from the Anthony Nolan Trust was found.
Lisa, 53, said: "The lead-up to the transplant with the intense chemotherapy was horrible. He was violently sick and ulcerated from mouth to stomach."
Despite the ordeal he has been through, Joe is doing well.
"He's a typical, normal boy. He's in remission.
"We do know any time tomorrow his bone marrow could start rejecting, but you do learn to live with it. It's part of life."
Having experienced the heartache that a bone marrow transplant can cause, Lisa is clear that any drug to help would be welcome.
"It would be amazing. The heartache and what the child and family go through is horrific."
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