An Aberdeen teenager who battled a rare form of childhood cancer and was not expected to live is now skiing competitively for Scotland.
Kieran Troup, 14, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when he was just 10 months old, and spent most of the first two years of his life in hospital.
The little boy’s body was riddled with tumours, and after a year of chemotherapy at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH), his parents Jane Mellor and James Troup were told that nothing more could be done.
But Ms Mellor, of Culter, refused to give up on her baby, and discovered a treatment called Meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) therapy which was not available in Aberdeen.
When Kieran was one-and-a-half, he had the MIBG therapy at Christie’s Hospital in Manchester and had to be kept in a lead-lined room due to the radiation levels he was receiving. His mother also had to wear a monitor to ensure she was not overly exposed.
She said: “He was kept sedated a lot of the time and hooked up to numerous machines in this room for six weeks. The results were positive and it looked like a miracle as the cancer became nearly undetectable.”
But hardship was to follow as Kieran, an S2 pupil at Cults Academy, had to undergo a bone marrow transplant when he was almost two, which left him dangerously ill.
“I had to teach him to walk again. I think I have taught him how to walk three times,” Ms Mellor said. But life for Kieran is now completely different, as he has been in remission for almost 12 years.
Passionate about ski-ing, the youngster has won many races at home and internationally. He has represented Britain and been invited on to the under-16 Scottish and British teams for next season.
“He is a walking miracle. It is amazing watching him grow up and seeing everything he is achieving. He has not just survived, but he is absolutely thriving,” Ms Mellor said.
Kieran has started fundraising to bring in funds for his next ski season. To make a donation visit www.justgiving.com/ Kieran-Troup