'I was away working when I got the call that no parent wants to get'

Coby Roberts was plagued by headaches and sickness for months - but his parents thought he was just suffering from a winter bug

When six-year-old Coby Roberts began suffering from severe headaches and sickness, his parents thought he was struggling with a winter bug.

But when the youngster was left "screaming with pain" due to the severity of his migraines, Ellesmere Port parents Lewis Roberts and Emily Paradise decided to rush him to A&E.

It was then that Lewis, who was working in Cambridge at the time, received the call every parent dreads. The couple were told Coby's headaches were caused by a ping pong ball-sized tumour in his brain, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Concerns about Coby initially escalated after the six-year-old's school contacted his parents about his frequent absences, making them suspect something more serious was going on. Lewis, 25, said: "The trigger point was when he got so ill with a headache he couldn't keep his food down."

Despite initial visits to the doctor suggesting they might just be headaches, Coby's condition did not improve.

"We took him to the doctors and they said it might just be headaches, but another week went by and they said they'd book him in for some blood tests a week later. Coby is a big lad - I'm tall myself - but he was withering away. He turned pale, his belly was gone and he looked like he was losing loads of weight," Lewis explained.

Coby underwent blood tests in February while his father, a floor-layer, was working in Cambridge. It was then that Coby's health sharply declined, leading to an emergency rush to A&E by his grandmother and mother, Emily.

Lewis shared the harrowing moment he received the news: "They said just for peace of mind, they would do an MRI scan. Then I got the call that no parent wants to get - my mum freaking out, saying you need to get home now, your son has a tumour in his brain.

"At first, when I found out, I was numb to the core. About an hour later I went from being numb to hysterically crying. I was in work at the time and I had to go off on my own. Luckily have a sound boss and he got one of the lads to take me home in one of the work vans and see him that day."

Coby, a Year 1 pupil at The Oaks Community Primary School, had a tumour the size of a ping pong ball inside his brain. This caused a build-up of fluid and put pressure on his brain, leading to excruciating migraines.

He underwent two major surgeries at Alder Hey Children's Hospital - one to insert a tube to alleviate the pressure in his head, and another to remove most of the malignant tumour, identified as a medulloblastoma. These rapidly growing tumours primarily occur in children aged between three and eight, and it is the most common high-grade children's brain tumour, affecting approximately 52 children in the UK each year.

Lewis said: "It has been tough on Coby. When he first went to Chester A&E he thought he was going straight home, and he was screaming in the ambulance because he didn't want to go to another hospital. He's only six and he's being jabbed with needles every day. Now when the nurse comes in he just goes silent. It's been hard on him.

"We've been dealing with it as well as we can. By the time I was wrapping my head around the fact that he had the tumour, they had taken it out. You never expect it to happen to you. You always hear the stories, but you don't expect it."

Having received a diagnosis of Medulloblastoma, young Coby is facing a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Lewis added: "It's daunting, knowing the side effects. We know it's all for the greater good, but we feel like we're in the calm before the storm.

"Coby is out of pain now and he's' all smiles and giggles, but we know what's ahead. We've got to be strong for him. When you're on your own it's hard, but we've got a lot of support and we're never really on our own."

In solidarity with Coby, his school has organised a unique "Kick for Coby" fundraising event that allows children to donate £1 and come dressed in their favourite football kits for a day. Additionally, a GoFundMe page set up to fund a holiday for the brave youngster has already amassed over £8,000.

According to Lewis, this incredible amount will be matched by EET Fuels based at Stanlow oil refinery, with the entire sum being generously contributed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Reflecting on the overwhelming support received from the community, Lewis continued: "We've had endless amounts of cards, and a massive card from the school. For days after his first operation, he never smiled until Emily received a video from all the students in Y1 saying 'hi Coby'.

"He had been in a foul mood for days and it was the first thing that brought a smile to his face. He said it nearly made him cry. I can't even describe the support we have had. The hospital is great; it doesn't even feel like a hospital. The surgeon, I can't speak highly enough of him. I don't know what to say."