When he was finally diagnosed with leukaemia four months later, doctors gave him just a week to live.
Miraculously, little Thomas Hebbron survived, but not before mum Gemma, 38, was warned there were “other ways I could discipline my child”.
Her GP even asked her if she knew of Munchausen syndrome by proxy – a mental illness in which sufferers harm children for attention.
Gemma, of Leeds, says her “nightmare” began in 2018 when Thomas, then five, had problems breathing, headaches and lost weight.
She took him to Oakwood Lane Medical Practice where GPs first diagnosed asthma.
But when Thomas developed bruises all over his body, she claims it was suggested she was harming her son.
Gemma said: “They said they knew I was a single mother, but there were other ways that I could discipline my child, [and] asked me if I knew what Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy was.
“I was so shocked and upset they were insinuating that I’d done it to him – that I’d deliberately caused the bruising. It was like I was living in a nightmare.”
Only when Gemma rushed Thomas to hospital months later with a rash she feared was meningitis did tests show he was dying from leukaemia.
His breathing problems were caused by a huge tumour crushing his lungs. She was told that without treatment he had only a week to live.
Gemma revealed: “I collapsed on the floor with shock when I was told he had cancer. I’d been to see the GP all those times and they insinuated I’d been harming my own son when he was actually dying of cancer.”
Thomas, now nine, endured three years of tough treatment, including chemotherapy so aggressive he had to use a wheelchair and was unable to feed himself. But in May this year, doctors finally gave him the all-clear.
Gemma, who is fundraising for the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), said: “He is so courageous, I’m so proud. It was an amazing moment when he finished his treatment and the doctors declared him cancer free.”
However, her relief is mixed with anger at their “disgusting” treatment at the surgery.
She added: “Five days after Thomas was admitted to hospital, the GP called me and said she had been overworked, tired and leukaemia was difficult to diagnose.
“But I’m so angry I was questioned like that – as if I’d done it to him – when he should have been getting treatment quicker.”
Gemma made an official complaint but it was not upheld. A spokesperson for Oakwood Lane said: “Sadly, this type of cancer can present in an aggressive manner, making early diagnosis very challenging for clinicians.” They said an NHS independent advisor was “satisfied the practice… provided appropriate clinical care.”
Donate to Thomas’s fundraising here.
