“The doctors said my boy has a virus. I never thought it would be this’

When Jozef Burch suddenly fell ill out of nowhere, doctors told his worried family that he probably had a virus.

The eight-year-old suffered from fatigue, while feeling unwell and with a high temperature.

Jozef, from the Tyldesley area of ​​Wigan, was excluded from school while his mother Marta booked him a GP appointment.

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There, the doctor said the young man was suffering from a virus and would probably get better with time.

And while Jozef’s condition improved, it took a turn for the worse two days later when he vomited at school.

For the next two weeks, his family went to and from the doctor’s office, where they were repeatedly told that Jozef had a viral illness.

But they decided to take Jozef to A&E one night when he suddenly started shaking, prompting Marta to call 911.

“It got really creepy,” the mother of three said Manchester Evening News. “I called 111 and they told me to go to the access centre. The doctor sent us straight to A&E.”

Jozef underwent blood tests before being told he probably had a chest infection. The young man was given some antibiotics and sent home with his family.

He saw his condition improve before it worsened again, forcing the family to return to the hospital. “It was like a rollercoaster,” added holistic trainer Marta. “It improved a bit and crashed again.

“We went back to the hospital and did more blood and they started scratching their heads.”

With no test results revealing why Jozef was unwell, the schoolboy was kept in the ward while doctors tried to identify the cause of his illness.

“They told us to stay inside because they wanted to see what was going on,” Marta added. “They were thinking of sending him home as he started to do better, but we asked them to keep him there, knowing he would crash again.”

Jozef was eventually transferred to Manchester Children’s Hospital, where he underwent more tests.

On March 4, a bone marrow biopsy was performed that revealed some heartbreaking news. Jozef had leukemia.

“I never thought it would be this,” Marta told MEN. “I really thought he had a virus.

“To be honest, you hear about these things on the news and from friends, but if you hear about one of your kids yourself, is it like now? where are we going What are we doing? How did it happen? Did we do something, did he do something?”

Jozef immediately started chemotherapy, completing two rounds so far. He will soon undergo a bone marrow transplant with his sister Grace as the donor.

A fundraiser has since been set up to help the family through this difficult time. It reads: “As you may know, Jozef has been hospitalized for many weeks and has been diagnosed with AML. He has completed his first round of chemotherapy but will remain in the hospital for the foreseeable future.

“His mother, Marta, was at his bedside every day and was his rock, however, that meant he couldn’t work.

“At such a difficult and emotional time, no parent wants to have the financial burden and worry when all they want to do is take care of their child and be there for them. Jozef has been so brave and strong through it all and still manages to keep his cheeky smile and incredibly funny sense of humor. He needs his mother by his side to keep smiling.

“Jozef, Marta and family appreciate everyone’s well wishes and messages and will really appreciate every penny raised.”

To donate, access the link by clicking here.