'Our boy spent Christmas and his birthday in a coma - now he's starting school'

Oliver Harrison was three years old when he was diagnosed with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, after falling ill on Mother’s Day 2025.

He spent five months at Leeds General Infirmary having intensive chemotherapy, which caused him side effects including red-raw mouth ulcers and a depleted immune system which meant he had to be kept in isolation.

Oliver’s mums Cora and Helen noticed something was wrong when Oliver was lethargic and sick on Mother’s Day. Scans revealed a tumour, with further tests showing blood cancer had spread to his abdomen, spine, brain fluid, kidneys and liver.

He started chemotherapy treatment straight away and stayed in hospital for five months, only able to see his mums and his eight-month-old brother Patrick.

The youngster also developed sepsis and pneumonia, leaving him in a coma for a month.

While his sight has been permanently affected and he needs regular steroid treatments and check-ups, his cancer has now gone - meaning he was able to start primary school last week.

Cora, 33 and Helen, 34, admitted last year was ‘hell’ for them as Oliver was forced to ‘miss out on ordinary things’ - and they now want to raise awareness of Blood Cancer UK’s ‘Here for This’ campaign, highlighting the milestones which cancer takes away, as well as sharing the signs and symptoms their boy experienced.

Cora said: “We went from having an energetic little boy who loved trains and going to the park, to watching our son puffed up with steroids, losing the ability to walk and at one point stuck in a coma for a month, desperately fighting to stay alive.

“Oliver missed out on the ordinary things like playdates with friends and important occasions.

“He spent Christmas and his birthday in a coma. He didn’t get to eat his birthday cake covered in trains which he would have adored, and we cancelled his trip on the Polar Express.

“We clung onto the hope that he would come through and that we would get to see him better, start school and do all the things so many people take for granted.”

Oliver has undergone physiotherapy to help him walk again since being discharged from hospital on New Year’s Day, with his mums now aiming to make up for the moments he missed whilst looking forward to the ‘ordinary’ moments like school pick-ups and playdates.

Blood cancer which includes conditions such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma, is the UK’s fifth most common cancer and the third biggest cancer killer, with around 40,000 people diagnosed each year, but awareness of it is still low.

Cora added: “I had never heard of lymphoma and never dreamed that someone I love would get blood cancer.

“At first doctors thought he had a bug and he was given antibiotics but one spotted that his right eye was unusually dilated and did a CT scan. The next thing I knew I was being told he had a tumour. It was the worst day of my life.

“Oliver had to go through so much like having cannulas and lines put in his hands and feet.

“He was at such risk of terrible infection that he didn’t see anyone except us – it was like being in a prison. He developed sepsis, pneumonia and got so ill he was in a coma for a month. Nothing prepares you for seeing your child like that.”

“Every parent gets emotional about their child starting school but it is extra special seeing how excited Oliver is to make friends and learn how to read and write. We’ll never take moments like this for granted,” says Cora.

Matthew White, Director of Engagement at Blood Cancer UK says: “Every day, blood cancer snatches away people’s joyful moments and milestones – special birthdays, festive occasions, first days at school or university, job opportunities, weddings and the chance to be parents.

“We want to raise awareness so people understand the devastating impact it can have and support us to fund the research that gives children like Oliver a future.”