The Harrigan’s Story

Aidan’s story

Our son Aidan, aged 22 is currently undergoing Maintenance treatment for late relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia August 2025 at the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Birmingham. He has Downsyndrome, and autism. He was first diagnosed in August 2020 with a blast crisis of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia which then was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer called Mixed Phenotypical Leukaemia.

How does this look for Aidan?

Young people with Down’s Syndrome are susceptible to getting all forms of Leukaemia. They can have a good prognosis, but do struggle with the toxicity of chemo and and are vulnerable to getting infections, yet their strong characters don’t always get the angst! We parents get that for them!

Unlike your average person, Aidan generally looks forward to his appointments at hospital. However he finds staying in hospital difficult, yet he knows and likes the staff, on the teenage cancer ward and is a social butterfly even though he can’t talk. We, as his parents have to stay with him and the ward is very accommodating with a side room for him.

He has a good relationship with his teenage cancer nurse Jenny Woodford, his learning disability nurse George Leech, and the whole Learning disability team and his youth workers Cathy and Liv give support him where possible.

From the perspective of a family with a child with learning difficulties, Aidan’s Consultant’s Dr Lindsay George, and Dr Hayder Hussein and the Haematology team, the Clinic, Day unit, theatre staff and Ambulatory care go above and and beyond to get him the treatment he needs in the way he needs it.

Despite it all Aidan is doing well, although he has been very poorly at time over the past six years.

Since 2020, “appledownartforcharity” has raised around  £4000 for Cure Leukaemia and Aidan‘s activity centre (Leapgate activity centre) £1000.

His big sister Enya is also his carer and his big brother Robbie is a huge support, while we are not physically running marathons or cycling but mentally it feels like a marathon every day…yet Aidan‘s (or “Chum” as we call him) joy of living helps us along the way.