Reader TTS

"EVERYTHING THAT COULD HAVE WENT WRONG, WENT WRONG" 05:00, 03 Jun 2025Updated 08:12, 03 Jun 2025 What began as a routine eye test quickly turned into a nightmare for one mum.

Within three hours of the appointment, Rhiannon Cassidy received the devastating news that her son, Ezra Cassidy-Hamilton, had a brain tumour. Rhiannon, a 38-year-old mum of two, told the

ECHO she was in shock when doctors broke the news about her “smiley little boy.” At the time, six-year-old Ezra had been experiencing headaches, but she assumed they were due to his new

glasses prescription. Rhiannon said: "He was already under the hospital for his eyes, it's just routine at that age. He'd been suffering from headaches, but we put it down to

his new prescription; we thought his prescription was wrong, so we went back for another appointment." At the appointment, in May 2024, Ezra had an eye exam, which uncovered pressure on

his optic nerve. He was sent for an MRI the same day, and within three hours, Rhiannon and dad, Jon Hamilton, were told Ezra had a tumour. He was transferred to Alder Hey later that

evening. Rhiannon, from Crewe, said she felt "terrified" at the news. She said: "We were told it was a high-risk medulloblastoma, group three, a form of brain cancer that had

already spread to his spine. It is the worst one you could have. "It was terrifying; it was a massive shock at the time. We walked into that appointment thinking we were coming out with

new glasses; it never crossed my mind that it would be so serious. It was a complete shock, such an upsetting and worrying time." Article continues below The next morning Ezra had

surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain, followed by a nine-hour surgery just days later to remove the tumour. But this was just the start for little Ezra. Over the next year,

"everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong," says his mum. He endured six rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, 14 surgeries, four of which were emergency, nine blood

transfusions, 11 platelet transfusions, countless MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays, numerous antibiotics for infections, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy sessions. The seven-year-old also

contracted shingles and meningitis during his treatment and was transferred to the intensive care unit and high care unit in times when he became "really ill." His mum said:

"I know treatment is hard anyway, but he just seemed to get everything. Anything that could go wrong went wrong. It has been a really stressful and worrying time for us all.

"It's also taken its toll on his brother, Axel [aged six], who I think it's been harder on sometimes. During the week I'm at the hospital with Ezra, and his dad would go

on weekends, so for most of the week I'm away from him, and it's been really hard." Ezra's last MRI results confirmed the now seven-year-old was "stable," but

some concerns were raised. Rhiannon said: "He is in a stable state, but we are just watching and waiting to see what happens. "We're completely in limbo, it's really

stressful. To be honest, feeling like this feels more worrying being in hospital because when you're in hospital you have everyone around you, and when you're not seeing doctors

and nurses every day you worry that everything is wrong. It's an endless cycle of worry." Despite this, Ezra is a "crazy, pretty happy boy" who is always "running

around" with his brother. Rhiannon had spent the morning of Monday, June 2, in the park with her two sons, who were giggling and laughing together without a care in the world. She said:

"At the moment he is very happy. He and his brother are playing in the park. He is still unsteady on his feet; he is having therapy and physio, but he has improved a lot. He can be

such a happy boy, but he suffers from fatigue and will push himself, then will be wiped out and get very tired." Ezra’s cancer journey is not over. He will continue to have MRIs every

three months to monitor for tumour growth. His mum says he "has a long road ahead" and "his life and the lives of those closest to him have changed forever." Article

continues below She added: "But we are starting to see more of the old Ezra. His hair is slowly growing back, he laughs more, his crazy personality is once again shining through, and he

has recently gone back to school for a few hours each week." The family is hoping to raise money to help support Ezra's battle and fund his travel to hospital, food and to buy

medical items not provided by the NHS. You can donate to the family's fundraiser here.