Joshua’s diagnosis
My name is Toby Whitesman and I’d like to tell you a little about my son, Joshua, and his battle with leukaemia.
We live in Ashford in Kent. My wife Pippa and I have two lovely children, Amber, 8, and Joshua, who has now turned five. For the last four years, it has felt like the whole family has been fighting Joshua’s leukaemia every step of the way.
When Joshua was 18 months old, and Amber only four, our world was turned upside down. Joshua was diagnosed with leukaemia. It wasn’t as sudden as that sounds – there had been signs that he was unwell. He had unexplained bruises, was listless and developed a rash.
We visited a lot of health professionals but it was a trip to A & E that confirmed our suspicions that something was very wrong. It was surreal – I’d dropped Pippa with Joshua at the entrance to A & E whilst I went to find a parking space. I went to find them only to discover that Joshua had already been admitted. Just 40 minutes later we were told that Joshua had leukaemia.