Mother's dramatic account as young son's life is saved by blood transfusions
Blood donation does not cost anything but its absence can cost lives, a young mother, whose son was saved by donors from possible heart failure, has stressed.
As a working mother of two boys, life was busy for Jade* who stretched her energy to fit in as much quality time with her sons as possible, because nothing was more precious than seeing them grow up.
When she thought life could not get busier, her eldest son, aged four, fell ill with a slight fever and funny cough. When the symptoms persisted for three days, his paediatrician suggested taking him to hospital to ensure there was no lung infection.
“By this time, my son, who usually somersaults his way around, was so weak he was unable to walk,” she recounts.
A couple of blood tests and six hours later, the doctors broke the news he needed a very urgent blood transfusion because he had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
“My whole world shattered as I looked at my son lying in that hospital bed, wired up to oxygen pumps and every other equipment imaginable,” she says.
Doctors rushed in to monitor him, while others started preparing her for what was about to hit her family.
“My emotions instantly left me and I...