Mum and dad pay tribute to battling Sunderland teen Thomas Russell who defied cancer and lung disease

Devastated parents have paid tribute to their beloved son who overcame childhood cancer then fought a debilitating lung condition for years.
Wrestling mad Thomas surrounded by memorabilia and with mum and dad Joanne and David and older brother HarryWrestling mad Thomas surrounded by memorabilia and with mum and dad Joanne and David and older brother Harry
Wrestling mad Thomas surrounded by memorabilia and with mum and dad Joanne and David and older brother Harry

Thomas Russell passed away on Friday, October 22, just weeks after undergoing a double transplant..

The 16-year-old was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma when he was just 11 weeks old and underwent surgery and intensive chemotherapy before eventually being given the all-clear.

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In gratitude, mum and dad Joanne and David set up the Thomas Russell Cancer Trust, raising £100,000 to fund cancer research and support the wards at Newcastle General and the RVI where Thomas had been treated.

Some of the stories the Echo carried about Thomas and the trust's fund-raisingSome of the stories the Echo carried about Thomas and the trust's fund-raising
Some of the stories the Echo carried about Thomas and the trust's fund-raising

“When he beat the cancer, they said he could go on to have a normal life, which he did,” said David.

But in December 2013, came more devastating news, when Thomas was diagnosed with pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) – a stiffening of the lungs, which makes it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Doctors locally could offer little help: “They had never treated a child with it before and they said ‘There is not much we can do’ – they didn’t give us much idea of time scales,” said Joanne.

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“We went to Great Ormond Street to get a second opinion – they had had a child with the condition previously.

Doctors at the children’s hospital said a lung transplant was out of the question and gave Thomas just three to six months to live: “He battled on for seven years,” said David.

"After three or four years, they heard of a child in Germany or Belgium who had had a successful lung transplant and they believed they could do one too, so he went onto the donor register.”

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The wait for a donor would last several years but then a couple of months ago, the family received the news they had been waiting for.

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"He got the call eight or nine weeks ago and underwent a 10-and-a-half hour double lung transplant operation,” said David.

Thomas faced a number of setbacks during his recovery but overcame each one until eventually succumbing to infection which had started in his lower bowel.

"He started doing well, but then he would get something that knocked him back,” said Joanne.

"All through the eight weeks, he battled and battled but eventually, he just had no more reserves left in his body to fight with – then he got sepsis and there was nothing they could do.”

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Now the couple and older son Harry are consoling themselves with the thought of all the extra time they had with Thomas, after first fearing they would lose him as a baby and then facing up to the PPFE diagnosis.

“He fought for eight years – he just kept on battling,” said David. “When he survived the transplant, we thought it was another positive step – then nine weeks later he was gone.”

David said Thomas had never let his health problems hold him back: “Even when he was ill, he did well at school. He got his GCSEs and was looking forward to going to Bede College,” he said.

"He wanted to study creative media,” added Joanne. “He had a lot of plans about what he wanted to do and the transplant was going to be a step towards that.

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“He had a lot to put up with – he was on a ventilator every night for the last few years – but he never complained.,

“He never moaned about his condition. He did talk about wanting to get better but he never moaned about the present day.”

A funeral service will be held at St Mary’s in Bridge Street at 9.30am on Tuesday, November 9, followed by a private burial at Houghton Cemetery and a gathering for family and friends at the Stadium of Light.

Family and flowers only, donations to the Thomas Russell Cancer Trust, sort code 09-06-66, account number 41978014. Donations will go to supporting Scott House, which provides accommodation for parents with children in the ICU at the Freeman Hospital, and where David and Joanne stayed during Thomas’ final weeks.

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