Parents of 6-Year-Old Told to 'Wait It Out' After Doctors Dismissed Leukemia Symptoms as 'Usual Bug Going Around'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jimmy Cragg, 6, was diagnosed with leukemia.Photo:Wendy Cragg/SWNS

Wendy Cragg/SWNS

A mom says her 6-year-old’s sore throat and swollen glands were dismissed as tonsillitis or a “bug going around” — but his symptoms were actually a sign of blood cancer,leukemia.

In November, Jimmy Cragg came down with what his mother Wendy described as common flu-like symptoms: “He had a cold and a cough, and a dry mouth and sore throat,” Wendy, 43, told South West News Service viaThe Daily Mail.

He also had some bruises on his back, but as his mom explains, “six-year-olds bump into everything” so the bruises were ”difficult” to classify as a symptom of his illness, which was dismissed as “the usual Christmas bug going around schools.”

Will and Wendy Cragg with their son Jimmy.Wendy Cragg/SWNS

When the family, who hails from the English town of Yateley, noticed Jimmy had a swollen lymph node in his neck, they sought medical care — but “they said not to worry, it’s just a swollen gland from his bug.” From there, Jimmy’s condition deteriorated, Wendy shares. He started “speaking funny” before his school’s nativity play, but when they took him back to the doctor, “they said it was probablytonsillitis,” she told the outlet.

After five days, Jimmy didn’t improve, and the family was advised to finish his course of antibiotics. “A doctor told us it was just due to tonsillitis and we needed to wait it out.”

Jimmy Cragg.Wendy Cragg/SWNS

As theAmerican Cancer Societysays, bruising is a sign of low platelet count — a symptom of childhood leukemia.

On Dec. 16, the Craggs received the news that their son hadblood cancer. “It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. It was just the worst thing to hear. We were just massively shocked. We still are,” Wendy said.

Jimmy Cragg spends Christmas in the hospital.Wendy Cragg/SWNS

Jimmy spent Christmas in the hospital, his mom says, as he is now undergoing chemotherapy and lumbar punctures, and while he’s staying at Southamptom Hospital, he had the idea to raise money to improve the children’s ward and “not only brighten his days but also benefit his fellow patients,” theGoFundMesays.

“We are in a position where we’ve caught this early. So we’re grateful for that — and grateful that we trusted our instincts,” Wendy told the outlet. “We’re lucky that we caught it early — but that’s because we took him to [the emergency room] even though we were told not to. Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t? I’d tell parents they have to trust their guts and to keep pushing.”

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source: people.com