Boy starts school against all the odds after rare cancer

Noah Karunananthan, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a rare type of cancer which affects the blood and bone marrow in May 2022 aged two.

He had a stroke and his family were unsure if he'd ever walk, talk or even smile, let alone meet the same milestones like going to school with twin Naima.

In the months before, concerned parents Sabe, 44, and his wife Dilly, 43, noticed Noah was eating and drinking less.

Noah began to worsen, with his eyes yellowing and eventually he stopped eating and drinking altogether, and wouldn't leave his mum's side.

Noah was diagnosed in 2022. (Image: SWNS)

They rushed him to A&E where doctors revealed the devastating diagnosis something that parents Sabe and Dilly say they struggled to process.

After being blue-lighted to Great Ormond Street Hospital, Noah underwent immediate chemotherapy.

Despite initial progress with the chemo, Noah suddenly began to deteriorate and "changed in front of" his parent's eyes.

A CT scan showed Noah had a fungal infection that caused him to have a stroke, leaving Sabe and Dilly unaware if he would recover all his movement and speech.

Eventually, Noah began to improve after a brain biopsy and was able to move again with the help of physiotherapy rehab. 

The family also received help with Noah's play-time whilst in hospital, thanks to the Play Team from the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH)

Noah was then moved onto Blinatumomab, an immunotherapy treatment given to children who have complications from chemo. 

Doctors have since checked for leukaemia again with the result coming back negative.

He is now getting ready to start school with his twin sister, Naima, tomorrow (4) allowing his parents to focus on "normal" problems like Noah's hate of buttoned shirts.

Noah's dad, Sabe, said: "We've got the stroke and leukaemia in the background but we have normal problems now - Noah doesn't like buttons on his shirts!

"The whole process has felt very surreal. As soon as someone says he has cancer, all I wanted to know what his chances of survival.

Noah was sent to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. (Image: SWNS)

"I didn't realise there were so many types of blood cancer.

"But when we got to Great Ormond Street, the consultant reassured us and all of a sudden, all of the ifs, became whens - we suddenly had a roadmap.

Dilly added: "I didn't really process it a all. 

"We were suddenly told the next two years of our lives could be a bit tough and I didn't realise what the journey would involve."

As well as Noah's, Sabe's and Dilly's lives were changed in an instant after being given the devastating diagnosis.

Sabe said: "We were split in two. 

"Noah and Dilly went straight to intensive care and I had to negotiate Naima his twin sister for that week - a lot of running back and forth. 

Noah is now heading to school. (Image: SWNS)

"Trying to find that time to balance work, nursery and life - it was hard."

Noah underwent chemotherapy and to begin with, all was going well, as Sabe said: "We were surprised how quickly they started it.

"They woke him up slowly and almost like nothing had happened. We weren't sure if we were going to get the same child again.

"Initially there was a bit of an issue when Noah was playing and we thought his sight was affected but we were told that was quite common from the platelets being lowered during chemotherapy."

But towards the end of Noah's first round of chemo, things began to get worse.

Dilly said: "They really tried to attack the leukaemia cells down to 0% - so it destroys your body.  We didn't know what was going on.

Noah has been on a long recovery journey. (Image: SWNS)

"It was the last day of his chemo induction and all he wanted to do was sleep and eat. Then he lost his hair, he was just changing in front of eyes. Noah wouldn't sleep without me.

"He kept holding his hand up and there was a sign of a stroke. 

"The CT scan showed the fungal infection and that was the second time we had to get blue-lighted to Great Ormond Street. 

"They thought he had a blood haemorrhage on the brain. 

"We had the MRI and we were later told there was a fungus infection from the chest to the brain.

"All through the night we had to wake up and change him and it was really horrible."

Sabe added: "We didn't realise how severe it was - it didn't seem real that he'd had a stroke. 

The family have praised the GOSH help. (Image: SWNS)

"The next day, he couldn't lift his head, he'd just fall back down - that was a shock for us.

"It got so bad that they stopped treating him for the cancer and started focusing on the fungal infection.

"They started on half a chemo dose just to keep the cancer away whilst they focused on the fungal infection."

But after a brain biopsy on the fungal infection, Noah suddenly began to improve again.

Sabe said: "They took a sample and suddenly Noah started moving and responding. He was able to watch things, moving his arms - all within a day or two.

"That's when the team from the GOSH charity really became part of rehab - if it wasn't for the play team being there all the time Monday to Friday it would have been really hard.

Noah still suffers from the effects of the stroke. (Image: SWNS)

"The physios were able to get Noah into the wheelchair and eventually they were able to him standing with the frame."

Dilly added: "Two weeks after the biopsy he still didn't have facial expressions.

"There was one day where he smiled again and it slowly got bigger and bigger - this was in July.

"I wanted him to be smiling for my birthday and he was - it was infectious."

Noah was then moved onto Blinatumomab chemo, something his parents described as a "gamechanger."

Following that, he was moved onto maintenance chemo before doctors checked for leukaemia again and it came back negative.

GOSH Charity is aiming to raise £300m. (Image: SWNS)

Sabe said: "The Blinatumomab was in his backpack and attached him to 24/7 and he could have that whilst moving and doing things - softplay and going down the slides.

"It was a game-changer."

Noah is now back at home in London. He still suffers from the effects of the stroke but tries hard to keep up with his sister, which his parents describe as “natural rehabilitation”. 

A spokesperson for the GOSH charity said: "GOSH Charity is aiming to raise £300m to help build a world-leading new Children’s Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), which will help more children like Noah by driving transformation in children’s cancer care to save more lives. 

"Designed with the needs of children and families at its heart, the centre will support every aspect of care for seriously ill children, from diagnosis to remission. 

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"The centre will provide digitally advanced inpatient wards, cutting-edge imaging technology and state-of-the-art treatment facilities.

"GOSH already treats the highest number of children with cancer in the UK, with a long history of pioneering medical advances and breakthroughs in cancer care. 

"While investment in research and treatment has significantly improved survival rates, cancer remains the most common cause of death in children aged one to 14, with some forms of cancer only having a 2% survival rate."