'We thought our son just needed bigger nappies... 12 weeks later he was gone'

When Rory Harty’s parents noticed they could no longer fasten his nappies, they assumed he just needed a bigger size.

But alarm bells started to ring when the two-year-old became sniffly and developed a persistent cough, prompting them to take him to a GP.

The doctor believed the tot was suffering from bronchitis, an inflammation of the airways which usually goes away on its own.

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But, a few days later, worried parents Rachael and Andrew noticed Rory had a swollen belly and appeared extremely fatigued.

As concerns grew, Rachael, 33, decided to take the youngster to A&E. She thought Rory may have been suffering from a chest infection and they would be sent home with antibiotics.

But, alarmed by how ill Rory looked, a receptionist alerted a doctor to his deteriorating condition and the family were rushed to an adult resuscitation area.

As his oxygen levels continued to drop, Rory was then transferred to a hospital in Preston where he was placed on a nebuliser, medics still believing he had a chest infection.

That’s where a doctor noticed Rory’s swollen belly, saying the family needed to go to Manchester Children’s Hospital for an operation to remove fluid from his lungs.

Rachael and Andrew were waiting anxiously when an oncologist came into the room alongside a Macmillan nurse. That’s when they knew Rory had cancer.

“I said to the consultant, ‘He has leukaemia, hasn’t he?’” EasyJet cabin manager Rachael told the Manchester Evening News.

“When the doctor said his bloated belly could have been caused by an enlarged spleen. I Googled it, I’m not going to lie.

“As I went through the lists, on the last page it said it might be leukaemia. I