Boy celebrates first Christmas in cancer remission with London doctors who treated him

A mother and her 11-year-old son who was suffering from blood cancer have returned to the London hospital where he was being treated to celebrate his first Christmas in remission.

Gabriel Gemegah was just seven when he was diagnosed with stage 4 T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma and spent three years in and out of Newham Hospital for chemotherapy, spinal taps and blood tests.

Before his diagnosis, he spent some time in the emergency room before becoming “extremely unwell” and being admitted to hospital on life support.

His mother Seyrah said: “It was a long, intense and painful experience, especially as a single mother of two young boys, but I never felt alone. Everyone on the pediatric cancer team, from the doctors to the nurses and play specialists, were there for us from the beginning.”

Gabriel suffers from ADHD and autism, which means treatment has often been a difficult experience.

“He couldn’t sit still during chemotherapy and didn’t fully understand what was happening and why, but the team met his needs and understood him,” Ms Gemegah continued.

On Monday, Gabriel visited the hospital to celebrate with the pediatric cancer team caring for him at the Christmas grotto and party – the first in-person event since the Covid pandemic.

“Over the last three years, everyone on the pediatric cancer team has become his friend. We even celebrated the end of Gabriel’s cancer treatment in September this year with everyone who cared for him throughout,” said Ms Gemegah.

“We are so grateful that Gabriel is now feeling better and that we can come back to celebrate Christmas with the team that has been there for us all these years.”

Joining Gabriel and his mother in the celebrations were Jacqui Seaton and Kady Tambi, both pediatric oncology nurses who helped with his treatment.

Ms Seaton said Gabriel and his family had remained “so strong” throughout his treatment.

“I am delighted that both of them are doing so well. It is patients like Gabriel who inspire me and my pediatric cancer team to keep going as before.”

And Ms Tambi added: “Being a pediatric nurse is the best job in the world. No matter how sick the children are, they always manage to make me smile. It is a privilege to get to know families like Seyrah and Gabriel's and I have great respect for how they deal with everything they encounter during treatment.

“Seeing the young people recover and live fulfilling lives means the world to me and motivates me on the hardest days. The families are simply inspirational.”