"Dear leg, I'll miss you so much": Boy's tragic farewell
A young boy has left a heartbreaking message on his leg after learning that it had to be amputated due to a rare cancer.
Chandler Tran, 8, from Australia, and his family first discovered the illness when they found a “pea-sized” bump on his leg and noticed he was walking with a limp when he returned from holiday care around Easter time.
Seeking an X-ray at the local hospital, he was then taken to a children’s hospital in Sydney and was given the devastating diagnosis of osteosarcoma, which is a rare bone cancer.
The following months comprised of chemotherapy treatment. Doctors then wanted to amputate his leg to alleviate the pain, but the amputation will not cure him.
Chandler’s dad Cong Tan, 42, recalled the moment. He said: “Can you take a photo of my leg on my tablet?”
“He drew a little love heart over his leg and wrote a little message.”
“He wrote: ‘Dear leg, I’ll miss you so much when you’re gone, love Chandler.’
“He was sad about the prospect of losing his leg, but he was like, ‘If that’s what I need to do to not have pain, then that’s okay.’
“For us seeing him coping so well, that really helped us.”
Days after recovering from that operation, his family were told the tumours in Chandler’s lungs had grown and the doctors couldn’t do anything more to save his life.
“They said any treatment would just be palliative, to try and slow the cancer down,” his mother Trang said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover eventual funeral costs but also to fund any LEGO that Chandler wants.
“The sickness is coming on and we are at the point where we can’t treat it and so it is about keeping him happy,” Mr Tran said.
“We appreciate everyone who has donated and is helping us give Chandler whatever his heart desires to make the last bit as enjoyable as possible.”
Image: NZ Herald