'I thought my son injured himself playing sports - the reality was so much worse'

EXCLUSIVE: 'I thought my son injured himself playing sports - the reality was so much worse' The devastated parents of a 10-year-old basketball fanatic have opened up about the nightmare moment that their son's leg pain turned out to be a rare and aggressive bone cancer Proud parents Itay and Zia Zilkha loved watching their 10-year-old son Zeve, thrive as he played basketball and dreamed of making it to the NBA. But when the active youngster started complaining of leg pains, his family initially put it down to standard aches from his active lifestyle and playing around with his friends. Their lives changed forever last August when a routine X-ray and scans revealed a devastating reality: Zeve had high-grade osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer. For Itay, from Epsom, breaking the news to his son was one of the hardest moments of his life. "It almost felt like being in some sort of TV episode, because it's what you'd usually just hear on TV and you never think it would happen to you. It was so hard," Itay told Daily Mirror. Trying to remain calm and normal, Itay reassured his son he was going to be okay. After visiting two different doctors, who believed it was just a regular knee injury, the situation became more serious as it began to rapidly swell, prompting an urgent hospital visit where they learnt the devastating truth. For the past nine months, the family have tried to shield Zeve, but as time passes, the schoolboy is naturally learning more about the severity of his condition. High-grade osteosarcoma involves fast-growing, highly abnormal cells that aggressively spreads through long bones like the femur, tibia. Treatment consists of surgery and chemotherapy and for Zeve it has become complex; as the previous chemotherapy treatments have not provided an effective response, leaving him in and out of intensive care as he battles complications. Zeve started chemotherapy at UCLH in London on September 15 last year. Sadly that initial treatment stopped working earlier this year, leaving the family frantically researching alternative clinical trials, with Zia dedicating her life to research for her son in order to give him the best environment he can. Whenever it gets too overwhelming, Zeve pops in his earphones to listen to YouTube. His parents don't avoid the heavy conversations, choosing instead to let him speak whenever he feels ready. "Every few nights he would ask difficult questions about the disease and how long it will take and when they will finish treatment," Itay said. "We just tell him the truth, we didn't think lying to him would be good. He's a smart boy and he remembers everything so we didn't want to lie, we just tell him in a soft way and not share too many details." Early on in his treatment, they prepared him for losing his hair by joking he would "have hair like daddy for a while" as Itay is also bald. Now when he is well enough to go out for dinner, Zeve bravely takes his hat off with pride. So much so that in his most recent school photos he told his mum: "I'm not going to wear my cap in the pictures, I want to show my own children what I went through." Before his diagnosis, Itay always encouraged Zeve to stay active and avoid screens. But since the illness restricted his mobility, the family's perspective on screen time has flipped, with the 10-year-old now watching as much YouTube as he wants. He even runs a gaming channel where he shares videos of himself playing Fortnite. "All the things we worried about before about screen time and things like that go when your kid becomes less mobile and suddenly screen time is a saviour," Itay explained. "We were buying him everything to just make him happy which is exactly the opposite of what we would have done as parents previously. "It just keeps him busy and his mind distracted. I'm sure any parent would understand." Watching Zeve handle the intensive chemotherapy has "humbled" the family, including his older sisters Eden, 21 and Nio, 18. Zia’s parents have also moved into the family home to offer daily support. Meanwhile, the local community has wrapped its arms around the family, who own a popular neighbourhood bakery they opened four years ago. Itay said: "It feels like we've just had a huge hug from everyone around us. It's not even about money, people just want to help. They want to cook for us, help with the business, even just if our dog needs looking after. The people that we have found through this horrible circumstance has been amazing and they have been so good. We can see how much people have come together and it makes you realise how much you need people around you. The family are rallying around to help Zeve all they can and one thing he hasn't wanted to give up was school. A bright pupil, Zeve manages to attend school in between his chemotherapy rounds, with the support of his school. "He has missed a lot of school, but on the days he can he will go in from around 10am to lunch time. He's just so determined, he mostly just goes for the social side of it." Zeve's family are hoping to raise money to give him every possible chance to get back to the life he used to have. The funding will help the family try and get him into a clinical trial, but with Osteosarcoma there is limited treatment available in the UK and Europe. You can view the fundraiser here.