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Friday June 26, 2015
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PAT ON THE HEAD IS A LIFESAVER FOR EDDIE
Rugby coach Jed’s ‘well-done’ gesture helps lead to diagnosis of ‘cyst’ on nine-year-old’s skull as a brain tumour... SWIFT RECOVERY: Eddie has a plate in his skull after his operation – but he’s still playing rugby
By David Miller News Reporter davidmiller@thepressnews.co.uk
A YOUNGSTER from Heckmondwike has been successfully treated for a rare brain tumour – thanks partly to his rugby coach. Nine-year-old Eddie Watson had already been to see a doctor because his mum was concerned about a lump on his head. Eddie, a pupil at Windmill Primary School in Birstall, had also been having headaches. But Eddie and his mum, Sam Dawson, were told the lump was a cyst and there was nothing to worry about. But when the youngster played in a rugby match for Dewsbury Moor in March, coach Jed Beety patted him on the head for doing well – and felt the lump. He mentioned it to Sam, who believed the lump had grown since seeing the doctor and sought further advice. This time a scan was ordered which showed Eddie had a rare brain tumour the size of an orange. The condition, Langerhans’ Cell Histiocytosis, affects only one in 200,000 children. Eddie had surgery within days at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) as the tumour had pushed part of his brain inwards by half an inch. A titanium plate was inserted after the operation, in which part of Eddie’s skull was removed along with the tumour. Eddie made a swift recovery and is already back training with Dewsbury Moor Under-9s. But he will need check-ups every three months for the next five years in case the tumour returns. Sam, of Lowcliffe Walk, Heckmondwike, praised the LGI for Eddie’s care and said: “They were brilliant with him from the moment we walked in.
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