A 9-year-old boy with terminal cancer kept fighting long enough to meet his new baby sister and pick her name, before tragically passing away, his parents have revealed.
Bailey Cooper was given just ‘days or weeks’ to live after being told his cancer had spread through his entire body, but he defied doctors and went on to meet his new little sister.
His heartbroken parents Lee and Rachel were given the devastating news that their son had cancer back in 2016, the Bristol Post reported.
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Doctors first treated little Bailey for a viral infection and then a chest infection, before giving him blood tests which determined that it was non-Hodgkin lymphoma. By the time it was diagnosed it had already progressed to stage three.
Bailey had to undergo chemotherapy immediately, combined with steroid treatment, and doctors were hopeful that he would make a recovery and by February 2017, he had gone into remission.
The Father, Lee told the paper: “He had to go in for regular check ups and routine MRIs every three months, but things were looking up.”
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But after having an MRI, Bailey and his family were called back to the doctors where they were told that he had relapsed. The family were devastated that the prognosis was not good, but that there was around a 70 percent survival rate.
“He went into chemo again,” Lee said. “The doctors threw the book at it, and told us even if he survived it, the long-term effects will last for the rest of his life. He had a stem cell transplant.
“We had to try everything we could.”
The brave little guy carried on fighting and in July went back into remission. He was able to spend an ‘amazing’ six weeks at home with his family, his Mother Rachel told reporters.
But at the end of the August, Baily would once again be told that he had cancer, and this time doctors told the family there was nothing that could be done.
Sadly, the cancer had spread and they were given the heart-breaking news that Bailey had just ‘days or weeks’ left.
Rachel said: “We didn’t think he would last that long, but he was determined to meet Millie. It got to the end of November, and Millie was born.
“He hugged her and did everything an older brother would do – change her, wash her, sing to her.”
Speaking about his baby sister, Bailey told his parents: “I want to stay but it’s my time to go to become her guardian angel.”
Bailey was taken to hospital on 22 December, and died on Christmas Eve with his family at his bedside.