When Ruben Troy, eight, began complaining of shooting pains in April 2026, his mother Ffion Smith assumed it was down to his love of rough-and-tumble play. A week later, Ruben collapsed at a pal's house and began writhing on the floor, screaming in pain.
After calling 111 and visiting an urgent care centre, the 28-year-old mum-of-four says doctors fobbed her off, telling her it was just a sickness bug that would clear up naturally. When Ruben collapsed again, Ffion said medics told her to give him Gaviscon, believing his chest and back pain was gastritis triggered by a "bad diet".
Gaviscon and coffee advice
Ffion, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, said the medics also told her not to give Ruben coffee - a beverage he doesn't drink. She said: "He doesn't eat 'well' but we are working on that ourselves. He doesn't eat fatty foods, he eats a lot of potato and bread, that's basically his diet. We didn't really think he had that [gastritis] but we thought 'the doctor said it so they think it is'. They asked if he eats chocolate, which he doesn't because he prefers crisps."
Alongside the pain, Ruben appeared pale, had small bruises on his legs, arms and chest, struggled to walk, and lost one-and-a-half stone. Ffion says she kept taking him back to the GP.
Blood tests and diagnosis
After multiple trips to the GP, Ffion pushed for blood tests on June 29. They revealed Ruben had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. Ruben has now undergone two rounds of chemotherapy and lumbar puncture surgery and is recovering at home.
Ffion said she is still angry about how the complaints were dismissed. "It makes me feel so angry that the doctors just wouldn't listen. Some days it'd be really bad and some days it'd be bearable where he'd walk a bit. He would be screaming. He missed school and couldn't walk. He was in so much pain and we were giving him Calpol and Nurofen but nothing would take away the pain and he'd just lie in bed all day."
'You don't know how painful gastritis is'
Ffion described pushing for blood tests at the urgent care centre: "I was getting a bit frustrated and I said 'nobody's listening to me, I need someone to take bloods'. I said to the doctor 'why are his legs hurting? It's not just his stomach, it's his chest, his legs and he can't walk'. He turned to me and Ruben's dad and said 'you don't know how painful gastritis is'."
Ffion has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay towards essential equipment and care that Ruben needs during his recovery. She said she is sharing her son's story to make other parents aware. "Keep going and don't take no for an answer. You need to speak up and tell them there's something wrong. I'm hoping when all of this is over he'll ring the bell and be like 'yes I got over it, I've done it'."
NHS response
A spokesperson for NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board said: "We are very sorry to hear about Ruben's diagnosis, and our thoughts are with him and his family at this difficult time. However, it is not appropriate for us to comment on the details of an individual patient's care. The ICB take any concerns raised by patients and their families seriously. We work closely with providers to ensure high standards of care are maintained for residents in Humber and North Yorkshire."
