Family of Kaden Kennedy want to see plane named after him so he can 'fly high and be remembered forever' following his death

Kaden Kennedy

The family of Kaden Kennedy, from Heywood, are asking for people to vote so a plane will be named in his honour.

Five-year-old Kaden died on 2 October 2015 after a fight with leukaemia. His mum, Tasha Bell, is now speaking out for the first time in over a year to ask family, friends and the public to help in getting a Thomson plane named after him.

Kaden was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia in April 2014.

Tasha said: “Hearing chemotherapy, bone marrow aspirates, lumber punctures, Hickman lines, platelet/blood transfusions, feeding tubes and the multiple list of medication is beyond another level for any parent to be told. It was heart wrenching but what other choice was there and as a parent you try to do what's right and best for your child.”

For over four months Kaden was an inpatient at Ward 84 on the Children’s Cancer Unit and, in August 2014, the family describe news of remission seeming “like a dream come true, but was soon to become a nightmare”.

The family say life seemed to be appearing normal. Kaden started school in January 2015 and apart from trips to hospital for blood checks, the family were doing well. However, on 23 March 2015, things changed when Kaden’s blood results showed that he had relapsed.

Tasha added: “The clouds drifted back over and my doubts were confirmed, we were back on the rollercoaster. Kaden was again admitted as an inpatient and treatment once again began. Familiar words like chemotherapy, Hickman lines, bone marrow aspirates, lumber punctures, feeding tubes and so on and so on all sounded too familiar. Kaden had his first round of chemotherapy but it was no use, the leukaemia was fighting back. Kaden wasn't going to give up just yet - the little solider that he was.”

The family then turned to plan B, a bone marrow transplant. Still hopeful, an umbilical cord donor from Germany was found.

“We were taken to the isolation transplant unit where we stayed for nine weeks, isolated with no family or friends being able to visit,” said Tasha. “Kaden slept for the majority of time, weak, in pain and generally unwell with the intense course of treatment. Lonely, it gave me time to think, time for my mind to go into overdrive. Thinking why Kaden? What had he done to deserve this? An innocent little boy who had done no harm to anyone or anything. I started to doubt myself as a mother. Is it my fault? Have I caused this? Is this my punishment for mistakes I've done in life? Truth is it’s just a horrible world and the worst was yet to come.”

Kaden was discharged from hospital in July 2015 with 100% donor engraftment. All of his medication was pulled back to give the donor engraftment a fighting chance against the leukaemia.

Sadly on 7 September 2015, the family were told that Kaden would die.

Tasha said: “I wasn't going to break just yet, Kaden needed me now more than ever. To hear that you are going to lose your child, not knowing when or how long we had left together is enough to send any parent over the edge. Life became a ticking time bomb and on the 25th of the same month, I was told in these words ‘two weeks is far away, even one week is too long’.”

Kaden died on 2 October 2015, asleep at home in his mum’s arms.

Tasha said: “He fought with courage, bravery and still smiled until the very end. Now I know what it's like to have a broken heart, but he was an inspiration. He was my inspiration. Like my son I will fight, have courage and be brave and when I think of him he will always make me smile.”

Tasha now wants to see a plane named after her son so he can “fly high forever and be remembered”.

She added: “His journey was long but his life was short.”

Voting closes on Monday 16 November.

You can vote via:

http://nameourplane.com/name/kaden-kennedy