Mum thought son's leg pain was 'pulled muscle' from football until shock cancer diagnosis
A mum was devastated when she realised her son's leg pain was much more sinister than just a pulled muscle after playing football.
16-year-old Lain Blevins, from Florida in the US, started experiencing pain in his right leg in June last year. But with him being a very active teenager who regularly played football, he and his mum Nikki initially put it down to a sports injury.
However, they realised a sports injury was far from the case when Lain's leg began to swell and he was unable to put pressure on it.
"Lain just started complaining about a little bit of pain in his leg. He plays American football so we just thought he had hurt it," Nikki explained.
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"He was at the point where he said he would rather have his leg cut off than continue with this pain. I knew something was not right. I'm not only a mum but I'm also a nurse.
"He had a little bit of swelling on the outside of his leg but again we thought it was something he had done in football."
After going to the hospital and undergoing X-rays and a biopsy, Lain was dealt the devastating blow of being diagnosed with non-metastatic osteogenic sarcoma - a 'rare' form of bone cancer.
According to the NHS, non-metastatic osteogenic sarcoma is a type of bone cancer that most commonly occurs in older children and teenagers.
In October last year, the teen underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy, before having the bottom half of his right femur removed and a new knee fitted.
Lain is currently half way through his post-surgery chemotherapy and is set to receive his last of 16 treatments in mid-March, which should thankfully see him go into remission.
"Lain's doing good but he wants it all to be over so he can go back to being a normal teenager," Nikki said of her son's progress.
"He's not been able to go to school. He hasn't been able to do sports or be with his friends. As well as American football, he also did track. He's ready for it to be over. No one tells you the mental health aspect of all of this when it starts.
"Once all the treatment is done, the doctor said appointments will go every three months for check-ups. Right now we're here every week. He should be in remission at this point [after his 16th treatment]."
Even though Lain may not be able to return to playing football, due to the prosthetic on his leg being unable to withstand any impact, Nikki explained: "His football team has completely rallied around him and they have done things during the football season for him. They have his number on their helmet and have painted his number on the yard line on the football field.
"He will always be part of the team regardless of whether he is on the pitch or not."
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Lain and his family with medical and travel expenses during this difficult time, which you can donate to here.
Emily Puckering