Charlie’s big breakfast

A TEENAGE boy battling cancer for a third time was given special treatment in Mexico — in more ways than one.

Charlie Ilsley, 13, from Emmer Green, received a new form of immunotherapy at a hospital in Mexico City over a period of three weeks.

And on his final day before flying home on Saturday, he was given a slap-up breakfast at the Hilton Hotel, where he was staying with his parents Mark and Toni.

Mrs Ilsley said the hotel chefs invited her son into the kitchen after learning of his passion for cooking and even gave him his own uniform as a keepsake.

She said: “I saw one of the chefs walk by and said, ‘Look at that chef’s hat, that looks cool’. Because Charlie loves cooking. I said, ‘Try to get one of those paper ones to put on when you’re at home cooking’.

“I asked the manager for one and the next thing I knew all the chefs had come out. The next day we went down for breakfast and our table wasn’t there. Mark and I grabbed another table and they said, ‘You’re having breakfast in the kitchen today’.

“There was a table set up in the kitchen with ‘mum’, ‘dad’ and ‘Charlie’ signs and they brought out this chef’s uniform for Charlie and all these traditional dishes.”

The family started with a whole plate of fruit, followed by parfaits and then chicken in a wrap, served with mole, a traditional marinade and sauce made with chocolate. chili and crème fraîche. “It just didn’t stop,” said Mrs Ilsley. “They were amazing and couldn’t do enough. We’ll definitely go back there.”

On their departure, the hotel presented the family with sombreros, a remote control boat for Charlie and a pumpkin full of sweets. Charlie, who was found to have a 1.5mm tumour in his cerebellum at his last scan, had three sessions of immunotherapy, which caused inflammation near his spine, so he currently uses a wheelchair to get around.

Mrs Ilsley said: “The immunotherapy was once a week but it was strong. It has definitely affected his legs.

“He can stand up and walk but his legs just want to buckle underneath him. It’s just easier to put him in the wheelchair but we’re trying to do as much as we can to keep him moving.

“We had six days a week where we were doing nothing. We had the whole hotel and swimming pool to ourselves.”

Charlie, who is not showing any symptoms, is a pupil at Highdown School in Emmer Green but can’t attend as he needs to isolate to protect him from coronavirus.

The family will return to Mexico next month for another scan to see if the treatment has worked.

Mrs Ilsley said: “I suppose it’s just life now, isn’t it? We’re used to it. We’re back to Mexico in December and then in isolation for another two weeks and then it’s Christmas.”

Charlie was first diagnosed in 2015 and had a 10-hour operation followed by 31 sessions of radiotherapy and then chemotherapy before being given the all -clear.

Then in spring 2018 two tumours were discovered on his spine. He had specialist radiation treatment in Turkey before given the all-clear for a second time in August last year.

In November the Ilsleys were told the disease had returned after a lumbar puncture showed cancer cells in his spinal fluid. He had more chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment but it failed.

He then had three weeks of CAR-T cell treatment, a form of immunotherapy, in Mexico in July, which cost £25,000.

Doctors say Charlie’s tumour has grown very slowly rather than aggressively. 

The family still need to raise about £8,000 to help pay for travel and treatment. To make a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/teamcharlie2020