3-Year-Old Boy With Cancer to Spend Final Days in Lockdown: ‘Treasure Every Moment,’ Mom Says

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A 3-year-old British boy living with terminal brain cancer is facing the possibility that he will spend his final days in lockdown. Amid the spread of the virus, his parents are urging others to be safe and cherish every single moment they have with their loved ones.

Xander Deeley’s parents, Jo and Matt, are busy making memories at their home in Solihull, in the West Midlands region of England. “It does upset me when I see people moaning and groaning about being stuck indoors while the country is in lockdown,” said Jo, 42, as reported by the Mirror.

“So many people will come out of this and one day be able to return to their normal lives,” she continued, “but that won’t be the case for us. My child isn’t likely to be here at the other side of all this.”

In June 2019, Xander, a previously healthy boy, began experiencing dizziness, pain, and vomiting. Xander’s symptoms gradually worsened; he began struggling to balance and his pain became so severe that he would scream while being laid down for a nap.

Having initially mistaken their son’s symptoms for an ear infection, Jo and Matt were crushed when Xander was also misdiagnosed by doctors. A series of further tests, however, allowed doctors at Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital to confirm the sobering truth: Xander had a brain tumor.

The little boy underwent three major operations and chemotherapy treatment, but tragically, the treatment didn’t work. As of mid-March 2020, Xander’s cancer is terminal.

According to the National Cancer Institute, Xander’s diagnosis, grade three anaplastic ependymoma, is of the highest severity and means the tumors are growing fast. Xander’s tumor is wrapped around his brain stem.

“That basically controls everything,” Jo explained, according to the Mirror, “the flow of messages from the brain to the rest of the body, and basic functions like breathing, swallowing, and consciousness. It was just too dangerous to operate near there. as one wrong move could have left Xander in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.”

Chemotherapy, said the heartbroken mother, had ultimately been ineffective. Treatment became more about prolonging Xander’s life than curing him.

Throughout Britain’s lockdown period, Jo, Matt, Xander, and the little boy’s older sister, Elora, have been isolating together at home. The siblings have had to face the news that their brave little brother has a brain tumor; Jo described her little boy as “happy” and “loving” despite his rapidly declining health.

Given Xander’s immunocompromised status, vacations or family day trips are out of the question for the Deeleys during the lockdown. Instead, the family is making the most of the time they have left together in the comfort of their own home.

Jo and Matt expressed concern about some members of the public flouting the British government’s social distancing guidelines, calling the behavior “upsetting.”

“I know it’s not everybody,” said Jo, “but a handful of people still don’t seem to be taking this seriously. We’re all in this together, and we need to think about the most vulnerable—people like Xander—and how to protect them.”

According to the Daily Mail, Britain’s Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has warned that Britain may be forced to endure even tighter lockdown restrictions if a certain faction of the population continues to ignore social distancing regulations.

The Deeleys are pleading with others to think of people like their son. Jo’s takeaway message for other parents, in particular, is to take time to appreciate how precious their children are.

“Yes, they can be testing,” Jo admitted, as reported by the Mirror, “but being around them 24/7 while the schools are closed can also be a chance to make memories.”

“We have to treasure every moment with our little ones,” Jo said.