A 15-month-old was diagnosed with a rare cancer after his skin turned into a ‘blueberry muffin’.
Little Kole Murray developed purple lumps on his skin and left medics baffled as they struggled to diagnose him.
His skin began to turn purple – like the character Violet Beauregarde from the book Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
His family were eventually told the tot was suffering from a rare form of infant cancer that caused his skin to develop lumps, known as Blueberry Muffin Syndrome.
Kole then underwent a bone marrow transplant from his dad to save his life.
Now his gran Lynn Smithers and mum Shannon are speaking up about Kole’s blueberry muffin syndrome in a bid to raise awareness of the serious health conditions with which it can be associated.
Lynn said the family first suspected there was something wrong when Kole was a few weeks old and unusual bruising appeared on his skin.
The 41-year-old said: “It looked like thumb prints on his chest.
“We thought have we picked him up wrong, where are these bruises coming from’.”
Kole’s GP and medics at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, South Yorks,. investigated the strange symptom.
Lynn said: “Someone came back and said he had blueberry muffin syndrome.
“We were baffled, we didn’t know what it was. We were so worried, because he kept coming out with these lumps and bruises.”
When Kole was aged four months, he was rushed to intensive care when the lumps started swelling dramatically.
Lynn said: “His little face and body were twice the normal size. I was really scared. His little body looked as if he could burst.
“He had purple dots all over — some big ones and some that went in his eyes and mouth. He was out of it for 10 days and you just thought the worst.”
Kole was eventually diagnosed with leukaemia.
His dad, Jordan Murray, donated the bone marrow to save his life. He had the procedure in December and was out of hospital in time for Christmas.
Lynn said: “He was so poorly but he was still giggling. He is so sweet, he is a joy to be around. He brings a smile to everyone’s face.”
Kole has finished his chemotherapy treatment and the family are hoping his future will be happy and healthy.
Shannon, 19, of Sheffield, said: “I cant explain how it felt when I found out Kole had leukaemia, it felt like everything had been taken away from me.
“Its been hard, but I have just had to get on with it.
“Everyone says ‘I dont know how you do it’, because I’m only 19, but you have to do it for your son.”
Dr Ajay Vora, Kole’s consultant haematologist at the children’s hospital, said: “Kole has received a bone marrow transplant from his father for a rare form of infant leukaemia which presented with lumps on his skin that had the appearance of blueberries on a muffin.
“There are several causes of ‘blueberry muffin’ syndrome, of which leukaemia is one.
“Kole and his family have shown amazing resilience during his treatment and he has happily grown and developed in blissful ignorance of all his problems.”
