Doctors said my toddler was overweight — he was battling cancer

November 21, 2022

A mother is pushing parents to advocate for their children’s health after doctors dismissed her toddler’s cancer symptoms as being overweight.

Natalie Ridler, a 32-year-old physiotherapist from Wales, was certain something was seriously wrong with her son despite doctors’ insistence that he was just overweight.

Ultimately, he was diagnosed with cancer.

“We thought we were going to lose our son because it had taken so long to get him diagnosed,” Ridler told NeedToKnow.Online.

The mom of two knew that her 2-year-old Morgan was showing symptoms of something, but she just didn’t know what.

The toddler had begun gaining weight rapidly in April and developed excessive body hair and behavioral issues. For months she was told that she was simply overfeeding the child, but she continued to second-guess the doctors’ diagnosis and continued to seek private consultations.

Two-year-old Morgan fought hard to battle a rare type of cancer that had spread to his lung after his symptoms were ignored by doctors. — Two-year-old Morgan fought hard to battle a rare type of cancer that had spread to his lungs after his symptoms were ignored by doctors.

Morgan smiling at the hospital — Morgan began gaining weight at an alarming rate and developed excessive body hair in April.

Morgan and Matthew — The stress and anxiety of possibly losing his first child and only son caused father Matthew to develop PTSD.

Morgan and Natalie — Natalie knew something was wrong despite doctors saying otherwise.

After months of pushing for more tests and insisting that her son was seriously ill, doctors finally discovered the true cause of baby Morgan’s concerning changes: There was a tumor pushing on his adrenal gland.

In October, Morgan was officially diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma, an illness affecting one in every million children, and given a 10% chance to live.

“I was angry that I hadn’t pushed harder sooner,” Ridler said.

“I was concerned about perhaps, an endocrine disorder or hormone disorder, but I never thought it was going to be cancer.”

Morgan was rushed to surgery as it was discovered that his tumor had spread to his lungs. The large mass growing in Morgan’s body was producing large amounts of cortisol and testosterone responsible for his unusual symptoms.

Morgan tied up to tubes — After several months, it was discovered that Morgan had a tumor on his adrenal gland that had spread to his lungs.

“I don’t think we will ever recover from seeing him being treated for cancer,” Ridler admitted.

“It was heartbreaking to have to see him so poorly. He was frequently sick and housebound due to being immunocompromised from the chemotherapy. Seeing him so unwell, having to force him to do things that he didn’t want to do, the unexpected hospital trips.”

She remembers her son being “very vulnerable” and bedridden as he even lost the ability to walk when he developed viral meningitis in between his third and fourth rounds of chemotherapy.

“He missed friends’ birthday parties, and a year of preschool. It also meant I was often spending time apart from my very young daughter, who was 5 months old when Morgan was diagnosed,” the devastated mother recounted.

Morgan in his hospital bed — The toddler was immediately rushed into surgery and began several brutal rounds of chemotherapy.

“I couldn’t allow myself to think about the possibility of losing him, I threw myself into doing the best I could for my family and raising money for the charities that were assisting us.”

Ridler explained that her medical background helped her to understand what was going on but shared that her husband, Matthew, 32, was at a loss with things being “a lot scarier for him.”

“The fear that we would lose his firstborn and his only son was something he couldn’t comprehend but couldn’t stop thinking about,” Ridler said.

The heartbroken father struggled to come to terms with the real-life nightmare. Matthew continued to work to help support the family as his wife stayed home with the children but suffered from PTSD as a result of the terrifying reality.

Morgan looking healthier — Morgan was cleared in August 2022 when he finally went into remission.

Morgan showing off chemotherapy — Although Morgan has been cleared, his family remains constantly alert as the toddler maintains a high probability of being hit with cancer again.

“It was a relief when he went into remission, but not nearly the exuberant feeling of joy that I expected,” Ridler admitted. Morgan still had a high chance of his cancer returning and has to undergo regular scans to spot any issues as early as possible.

“There is constant anxiety that something will return, especially since Morgan was found to have a genetic mutation which makes him more susceptible to cancer called Li-Fraumeni syndrome,” Ridler said.

The Welsh mother is still upset that doctors did not seem to seriously consider her worries from the beginning and encourages other parents to push for answers when they believe something isn’t right with their child.

Ridler believes if health professionals had listened to her from the beginning, Morgan may not have needed as much treatment as he did.

“After being thrown into the world of cancer,” she said, “it feels like it will always be a passenger on our life journey now.”