As a six-year-old, it’s pretty hard to be a record-breaker. Unless you’re a prodigy or something, you’re not likely to get that much undue attention.
But George McIntosh is a record-breaker, though not for an ideal reason. He suffers from a disseminated oligodendrial leptomeningeal tumor, which affects the nervous system in his brain and spine.
This kind of tumor has only been found and nine adults, and until now, it’s never been found in a child.
“Because George is the only child in the world who is known to have this, a lot of his treatment is experimental and we just take it day-by-day,” says his mother, Julie. “He was a puzzle for nine months and now he’s unique, and medical experts are working on an international journal which will highlight his condition and his symptoms.”
He was first rushed to the hospital at the age of five for a squint in his eye. Doctors thought he had tuberculosis or meningitis that had caused swelling inhis brain, and treated him for those conditions.
However, in June this year, they realized what was really going on.
“They saw that things weren’t developing how they thought they would be if he had TB or meningitis,” says Julie. “He had a biopsy on his spine and they discovered that it was this extremely rare tumor. Thankfully, it is low grade and is not malignant.”
Since the discovery of the tumor, he’s had a number of surgeries, and plates and shunts in his head. He’s been in chemotherapy ever since.
“It has been really hard and it’s going to continue to be hard,” said Julie. “But we have all honed in on what is important and we appreciate every day. We have our kids and we enjoy all of the little things with them.”
George and his brother, Archie, who has conjoined fingers, recently opened a pop-up Christmas shop to benefit the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, where they’re being treated. Julie said, “It choked me up. I was so proud of them, and it was nice of them to give something back to something which has given so much to them. They are fantastic kids and they are a credit to us.”
