Parents defy medics and find cure for their seriously ill son

Feb 14 2009 by Anne-Marie Senior, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD with an untreatable blood condition is living his childhood to the full – thanks to his parents’ quest for a cure.

Reuben Grainger-Mead has baffled doctors for years with his rare blood disorder.

Now the once weak and lethargic boy has been given a new lease of life after his parents Michelle and Peter stumbled on a cure.

And the treatment could offer cancer sufferers a life-saving breakthrough.

Mum Michelle, 39, said: “We are dumbfounded at how successful it has been.

“We did live in hope but always had doubts as all the medics were saying there was nothing else we could do.

“It just shows that parents should never give up – there’s always another avenue.”

Reuben’s condition is so rare that it still does not have a name. Doctors said it was similar to Diamond Blackfan Anaemia (DBA) as he suffered from a low level of red blood cells.

The Gomersal youngster had to have painful and time-consuming blood transfusions in hospital once a month.

Now with a new treatment programme of nutritional supplements, Reuben has not needed one for three years.

And his progress has amazed doctors who once said they were powerless to help him.

Reuben had a low immune system and, growing up, suffered from ailments like eczema and asthma.

He was weak and struggled to speak, his growth was stunted and his development was 18 months behind other children.

His heart had to work much harder – beating three or four times quicker than normal – leaving him vulnerable to heart attacks.

When Reuben was examined at the age of two, doctors said he was living with a permanent hangover.

Dad Peter Mead, 45, explained: “Doctors told us Reuben had a red blood count of 3.8 when a normal count is 12 to 14 and reckoned he was around 18 months behind other kids his age.