“It all started with a bruise,” says Lebanese expat Rim Obeid, a Dubai-based mum of two whose eldest boy, Rafi, 3, is currently battling one of the most common childhood cancers, B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
“I noticed that he started getting small bruises, just like any other active child. However, with time, the bruises became more spread out across his body, on locations that are easily bumped during the day - such as his chest, under his eye, on his knee and hips…”
Rim took her then two-year-old son to the pediatrician for a check-up. “The doctor examined him from top to toe and said he seemed fine. But due to the frequency and size of the bruises, she said we should do some blood tests to see what was going on.”