After more than three years of leukaemia treatment, Conor McNeill’s family were thrilled to be told in January that he was in the clear.
His mum Karen McErlean (40), sister Grace McErlean (11) and dad Ciaran McNeill had big plans for 2020, including taking Conor on his first foreign holiday.
Conor was first diagnosed with leukaemia aged 19 months. But just seven months after he was given the all-clear, his family were told in July that his cancer had returned.
Ms McErlean, from Armoy, Co Antrim, said Conor now needs a stem cell transplant.
“You don’t expect it. You think he’s in the clear,” she said.
“We had big plans for this year. We were for Disneyland and had loads of things booked. Because of corona that’s all cancelled anyway but regardless he wouldn’t have been able to go. He’s missed out on a lot of stuff and now we’re back to square one.”
The family was hit by a further blow when Conor’s sister Grace was diagnosed with auto-immune hepatitis at the end of July and had to spend time in hospital in Birmingham.
Although Ms McErlean said Grace, a Year Eight pupil at Cross and Passion College in Ballycastle, Co Antrim, is managing well, the diagnosis had come as a shock.
“Conor was in theatre in Belfast, she (Grace) was in theatre in Birmingham,” she said.
“It was a very weird week. It was a lot at the time.”
Conor travels for treatment at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children several times a week. He also has a central line so drugs can be administered intravenously while he is at home.
Ms McErlean said although coronavirus has proved to be an extra challenge, Conor’s condition means that the family have to be careful about social distancing, regardless of the pandemic.
Conor was due to go into Primary Two at St Olcan’s Primary School in Armoy. However, he has to remain in isolation at home.
“His treatment makes his white blood cells go way down so if he caught something he wouldn’t be able to fight it himself and would end up in hospital,” she said.
She added: “He can go outside but he can’t go anywhere where there’s lots of people.”
Ms McErlean works as an agency nurse but has taken time off work to care for her son.
“The plan is he does two cycles of this drug he’s on at the minute and hopefully by that stage they will have found him a match,” she said.
If a match, or the best possible match is found, Ms McErlean said the family hoped that Conor could have a transplant at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in England late this year, although he may have to spend up to three months in hospital in Bristol.
To give him the best possible chance, Conor’s family, including Ms McErlean’s cousin, Antrim and Cushendall hurling star Eoghan Campbell, have launched a drive to get more people to sign up to the stem cell register.
According to the Anthony Nolan blood cancer charity, men aged between 16 and 30 make up only 16% of its register but provide 55% of all donations.
“I would encourage anyone of any age to join but men of that age group have a better chance of matching someone,” Ms McErlean said.
“I think there is a lot of fear. All it is is a cheek swab (to join the register). If you go on to make a match it’s just a blood sample. It’s not as if they’re going to inject into your hip bone and take the marrow. It’s just blood. They take the stem cells out of your blood so it’s not as scary as some people think.”
She added: “The sooner he gets a match the sooner the ball can start rolling… Ultimately he can’t keep having treatments forever.”
Her 26-year-old cousin Eoghan Campbell, from Cushendall, Co Antrim, has signed up to the register with the Anthony Nolan charity.
The hurling star said signing up was “really, really simple”.
“They send (a kit) out. Mine came within the week. It took ten minutes - just two swabs around your cheek, you send (the kit) back and that’s it,” he said.
“It would be absolutely fantastic if I was a match for Conor but I suppose looking at the wider view there are a lot of young children who do need stem cells. If you can get as many people around my age on the register (as possible) I suppose there’s a better chance for those children to have the opportunity to get the transplant.”
Mr Campbell said “a good few” players with his club and country have joined the register.
“Actually one of our (county) players has been contacted to say they may be a match for someone," he said.
“I would definitely encourage any young fella to get on the register. It doesn’t cost anything and you could be saving someone’s life.”
Mr Campbell said his whole family and the GAA community are backing Conor.
“Both sides of the family are very tight knit,” he said.
“In Cushendall the GAA community will do anything to help… and do as much as they can.”
People aged between 16 and 30 can join the stem cell register via www.anthonynolan.org/8-ways-you-could-save-life/donate-your-stem-cells
DKMS accepts donors of all ages. Potential donors can join via www.dkms.org.uk/en/register-now
