Schoolboy, 11, receives horror diagnosis after mum noticed he was always tired

16.09.2022 - 12:55 / dailyrecord.co.uk

A mum who carried out a blood test on her son after his symptoms were ignored by doctors was left devastated after receiving the results. Tasneem Ali knew something wasn't right with son Yusaf when he started feeling tired all the time and lost his appetite.

She made an appointment with the GP, however his doctor did little to investigate the 11-year-old's symptoms. Tasneem - who works at a local practice - decided to take the issues into her own hands and carried out a blood test on her son at home.

The results showed that Yusuf, now 14, had leukaemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer, which likely would have led to his death without urgent treatment. Within just a few days, he was admitted to intensive care and over the next three years would undergo gruelling chemotherapy, Wales Online reports.

Since his diagnosis, the formerly active schoolboy has had his whole life turned upside down and is still unable to attend school on a regular basis. His heartbroken family are now holding out hope that Yusuf, who loves golf and horse riding, will finally finish his treatment this December and will be free of this cruel disease once and for all.

"I got a call from our local A&E [after I'd done the blood test] to say he was very sick and that I needed to bring him into hospital straight away," recalled Tasneem, 41, who said a lumbar puncture was carried out to confirm Yusuf's leukaemia diagnosis. "I was absolutely devastated. For me it felt like the world was going to end.

"This is my first child, and he's such a good boy. He was like the 'dream child' as he'd never had any issues with his health. I couldn't even remember the last time he had Calpol."

Tasneem, who lives in Leicester but is originally from Cardiff, said just a