Parents of 6-Year-Old Told to 'Wait It Out' After Doctors Dismissed Leukemia Symptoms as 'Usual Bug Going Around'

Jimmy Cragg's doctors thought he had a virus or tonsillitis until a bruise on his back indicated it might be childhood leukemia

• Jimmy Cragg, 6, was diagnosed with leukemia after doctors dismissed his symptoms as tonsillitis or a "bug going around"
• The boy had a sore throat, cough, and swollen glands — but it was the bruising on his back that led doctors to test for leukemia
• His mom, Wendy, advises parents to "trust their guts and to keep pushing"

A mom says her 6-year-old’s sore throat and swollen glands were dismissed as tonsillitis or a “bug going around” — but his symptoms were actually a sign of blood cancer, leukemia.

In November, Jimmy Cragg came down with what his mother Wendy described as common flu-like symptoms: “He had a cold and a cough, and a dry mouth and sore throat,” Wendy, 43, told South West News Service via The Daily Mail.

He also had some bruises on his back, but as his mom explains, “six-year-olds bump into everything” so the bruises were ”difficult” to classify as a symptom of his illness, which was dismissed as "the usual Christmas bug going around schools."

When the family, who hails from the English town of Yateley, noticed Jimmy had a swollen lymph node in his neck, they sought medical care — but “they said not to worry, it's just a swollen gland from his bug.” From there, Jimmy’s condition deteriorated, Wendy shares. He started “speaking funny” before his school’s nativity play, but when they took him back to the doctor, “they said it was probably tonsillitis,” she told the outlet. 

After five days, Jimmy didn’t improve, and the family was advised to finish his course of antibiotics. “A doctor told us it was just due to tonsillitis and we needed to wait it out.”

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When Jimmy began vomiting, Wendy says they were still advised to wait. Frustrated with their doctors, she says, “We were done by then. We got in the car and took him to the hospital.” It wasn’t until someone at the hospital noticed the bruising on his back that they ordered blood tests.

As the American Cancer Society says, bruising is a sign of low platelet count — a symptom of childhood leukemia.

On Dec. 16, the Craggs received the news that their son had blood cancer. “It's every parent's worst nightmare. It was just the worst thing to hear. We were just massively shocked. We still are,” Wendy said. 

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Jimmy spent Christmas in the hospital, his mom says, as he is now undergoing chemotherapy and lumbar punctures, and while he’s staying at Southamptom Hospital, he had the idea to raise money to improve the children’s ward and “not only brighten his days but also benefit his fellow patients,” the GoFundMe says.

“We are in a position where we've caught this early. So we're grateful for that — and grateful that we trusted our instincts,” Wendy told the outlet. “We're lucky that we caught it early — but that's because we took him to [the emergency room] even though we were told not to. Who knows what would have happened if we didn't? I'd tell parents they have to trust their guts and to keep pushing.”

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