A young boy has had his Disneyland dream cancelled after an unexpected cancer diagnosis following a series of medical issues.
Mason Gardner, three, from Norwich, was bitten by a spider in February, followed by a ruptured appendicitis which was followed by an e-Coli infection, followed by septic arthritis and then eventually he was diagnosed with leukaemia in April.
Mason and his family were meant to be flying out to Disneyland Paris on Tuesday but because of Covid and his cancer diagnosis this has been delayed by three years.
The family have now launched a GoFundMe page for Mason's future leukaemia treatment and trip to Disneyland Paris or even Disneyland Florida.
It has been a tough few months for Mason in and out of hospital and his mum Kristie, 33, described how Mason does not understand what is going on.
Mrs Gardner said: "It has been hard to communicate to Mason and make him understand what is happening right now just because he is so young.
"He has been in and out of hospital now since February and he has only spent two weeks and four days at home since that date.
"The leukaemia is taking its toll on him and at the moment he can't walk or stand properly.
"The diagnosis means that he can't attend nursery either at the moment so he has been deprived of this."
At first, Mrs Gardner was reluctant to set up a GoFundMe page for Mason and it was her mum Wendy Mandrell who set up the page.
But when she realised how much it would mean to Mason to go to Disneyland in three years time, she agreed it was a great way to raise the money.
She said: "Mason absolutely loves Disney and if we raise enough money for his treatment and Disneyland it would mean the world to him.
"I can't wait just to see that smile on his face when he knows he is at Disneyland.
"I can't fault the support we have received from the community and across social media.
"To know some families are going through similar problems to you makes it all feel less isolating."
You can donate to Mason's GoFundMe page here.
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