“DADDY, can we play football?” Those are the most beautiful words in the world to Mo Hussain, 38, from Blackburn, because they mean his five-year-old son Eesa is having a good day. And to ensure more good days lie ahead, this devoted father is a man on a mission, seeking the stem cell match that will save his little boy’s life. “On New Year’s Day, Eesa felt sick and looked really pale,” Mo says.
“Concerned, we took him to A&E.” It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. A few hours later their son was being transferred by ambulance to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Normal levels of haemoglobin – a protein which transports oxygen around the body – are 120-150g/l. Eesa’s was 42g/l due to dangerously low red blood cell levels. “I want to go home and play with my dinosaurs,” Eesa cried.
Mo’s heart broke. Mo cuddled Eesa as he had a general anaesthetic for a bone marrow biopsy. That night, the whole family – Mo, his wife and two-year-old son Ali – crammed into Eesa’s cubicle on ward 86 to sleep.
“We needed to be together,” Mo says. The biopsy showed Eesa had a rare, life-threatening condition called aplastic anaemia, meaning his bone marrow and stem cells don’t produce enough red and white blood cells and platelets. The best cure is a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor.
While preparations were made to test the family’s suitability, Eesa had a Hickman line fitted in his chest so doctors could administer medicines and take b.