Facebook saved my life

A snapshot posted on Facebook may have saved four-year-old Ted Rice’s life.
The youngster had a rash on his face, and his worried father Philip sent a picture of it to a doctor friend via the social networking site.

Her reaction was unequivocal – get him to hospital right away.
Within hours, Ted’s parents had been given the dreadful news that he had leukaemia. The rash was a clear sign of the illness.

The football-mad boy now faces years of gruelling chemotherapy, but his parents are convinced the instant response they got through Facebook has given him a fighting chance.
Mr Rice, an anaesthetic assistant, and his wife Sara, a midwife, started to worry about Ted late last year.

‘He was generally well, but there were a few things that were bothering us,’ Mr Rice said yesterday.
‘He was feeling a general malaise, but we put that down to tiredness after a few birthday parties and a trip to Blackpool.

‘There were also the odd bruise and a few minor nosebleeds, but nothing out of the ordinary for an active four-year-old boy.’
On November 25 last year, the night before Ted was due to be seen by his GP, Mr Rice spotted a purplish rash on the boy’s face as he slept at the family home in Bury, Greater Manchester.
It failed to fade when pressed with a glass, but as Ted did not have a temperature or other symptoms his father knew it was not meningitis.
He took a photo on his mobile phone and sent it via Facebook to Dr Sara Barton, a colleague at Salford Royal Hospital.

After asking a few questions, she gave him the answer he dreaded – the rash was a symptom of acute lymphocytic leukaemia.
‘I had that gut feeling when something is wrong,’ said Mr Rice. ‘Looking back, in my heart of hearts, I knew what was going on but I was so frightened I couldn’t admit it to myself.’
He took Ted to the hospital where he works, and within hours the diagnosis was confirmed.

Ted, who has a two-year-old sister, Pippa, has already had three months of daily chemotherapy which will continue for three years. He has lost his hair and needs a wheelchair to get around due to the side-effects of his treatment, but his parents hope he will be well enough to attend pre-school.
Mr Rice has had his head shaved in support of Ted, and Dr Barton is taking part in the Great Manchester Run in May to raise money for The Rainbow Trust, which supports children with life-threatening illness and their families.
She said: ‘Their help is crucial to Ted and his family, and will continue to be needed for many, many families around the UK.’

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