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Logan Williams-Lay from Herne Bay celebrates first birthday after cancer battle

06:00, 01 July 2019

updated: 14:55, 01 July 2019

A baby who was close to death battling an aggressive form of cancer is now making a recovery.

Brave Logan was just three months old when he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in August following a string of doctors’ appointments.

Mum Kelly Williams, 34, from Herne Bay had initially been told by GPs he was healthy. But Logan, who celebrated his first birthday last month, was rushed to hospital with a distended stomach and black marks on his eyes.

Logan Williams-Lay in hopsital (12865092)
Logan Williams-Lay in hopsital (12865092)

“It was awful,” Kelly said. “I was devastated. You don’t think something like that will happen to someone when they’re three months old.

“The tumour had spread to his liver, eyes, the back of his skull and side of his face. He was really ill – it was bad.

“The doctors rushed him in for surgery – it was all very quick. They said if he hadn’t been admitted he wouldn’t have made it.

"He was laid up for weeks in hospital and he needed a feeding tube in him because he was so weak.”

It is thought Logan was born with the cancer, which affects about 100 children each year in the UK.

Logan on his first birthday with his mum Kelly Williams and his nine-year-old brother Tyler
Logan on his first birthday with his mum Kelly Williams and his nine-year-old brother Tyler

He was put on a course of chemotherapy, which caused him to lose his hair, and regularly visited Great Ormond Street Hospital. Recent results show the tumour has shrunk and is now confined to his liver.

“The chemotherapy’s cleared all of it up, so it’s looking really promising,” Kelly added.

“He’s so happy and laid back – he wasn’t even fazed when he was in hospital.

“Now, you wouldn’t think anything’s wrong at all – his hair’s grown back and he’s doing everything a normal child of his age should be doing.

"It’s absolutely amazing – I can’t use words to describe how relieved I am about it.”

Little fighter Logan (12899917)
Little fighter Logan (12899917)

Doctors have not said if the cancer is in remission, but Logan will undergo further scans in August to establish how to treat the remaining tumour.

A teaching assistant at Herne Bay Infant School, Ms Williams is on maternity leave but will need to look after Logan full-time.

A friend of the family set up a fundraising page for Kelly last year to help cover the costs of travelling to and from Great Ormond Street, raising more than £2,000.

“I raised more than £2,000 and that helped me so much with the costs of travelling back and forth and buying food and water there,” she continued.

“I still can’t believe so many people helped me.

“I still get messages off strangers saying Logan’s in their thoughts.”

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