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A 13-year-old singer awarded the golden buzzer on Britain's Got Talent (BGT) with his choir has seen his dream come true by finishing chemotherapy.
Chartham’s Samuel Bourdillon was diagnosed with a brain tumour when he was just four years old.
The Kent College pupil took several trips to his GP after vomiting, limping and falling over during the course of several months.
Yet Samuel, who lives with mum Karen and dad Paul, was first told he may have cancer when Karen described his symptoms to a family friend and physiotherapist.
However, after multiple surgeries and rounds of treatment, he ‘rung the bell’ at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford this week to mark the end of cheomtherapy.
The milestone came just weeks after he appeared on the hit ITV show on April 20, which was watched by thousands across the country.
Samuel was part of Ravi’s Dream Team choir, who won the golden buzzer from judge Alesha Dixon for their performance of A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman.
The group is made up of eight-year-old Ravi - who himself underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour - plus other children affected by the condition.
Family members, friends, teachers and doctors are also part of the group.
Their performance left both Alesha, and fellow judge Amanda Holden, in tears.
Samuel’s mum Karen says both landmarks gave the teenager a lot of confidence following a gruelling period.
She explained: “The performance and ringing the bell were equally exciting for Samuel and us as his parents in different ways.
“The bell symbolised the end of this part of his journey and has been his goal since he started chemo, so to finally get there was emotional.
“He wanted to do things like be part of the choir when it would have been very easy for him to say he was feeling rubbish and couldn’t face it.
“[But] both occasions were a massive boost for him - the choir is fantastic because it is full of people who have faced the same struggles and live with the same challenges.”
Karen says Samuel had been undergoing treatment for the last 19 months at both the William Harvey and the Royal Marsden in Surrey.
However, she insists the teenager wouldn’t be alive today had they waited any longer to find a diagnosis nearly 10 years ago.
She added: “We went back to the GP and were lucky enough to have an MRI scan three days later.
“When the surgeon saw the images, he said Samuel would not have survived if we’d waited another few weeks because of how fast it was growing - it was such a shock.
“I had thought we would be able to rule a tumour out, but since then the care and treatment Samuel has received has been second to none.
“Our consultant Jill Urand, who has been with us since the beginning, is fantastic, as are the team on Padua ward.
“[So] it was also a really proud moment for us that he has got through 19 months of chemo and is still positive and smiling.”
Samuel, though, developed a rare complication following his first surgery.
It meant he had to spend more than six months in hospital learning how to walk, talk, and feed himself again.
This resulted in him receiving intensive specialist physiotherapy, and counselling in a bid to help him adjust to the condition.
“It was a really tough period, but the care we received was amazing and I think it has played a part in his longer-term recovery,” she explained.
“Because the tumour is growing from within his brain stem, it would be very difficult to remove it all so it is something he has to live with.
“Samuel had a second procedure aged nine after it grew back.
“They removed as much as they could, but when it started to grow again they decided to try chemotherapy, which has kept the tumour stable.
“It hasn’t shrunk, but it hasn’t grown, and we hope it will remain stable now the chemo is over.”
Karen got to know Ravi’s family through a WhatsApp group for parents of children with tumours.
After attending a fashion fundraiser, the group was then put together when an appeal was made at the show for anyone who liked to sing.
With both Karen and Paul music teachers, their passion was passed down to Samuel who also loves to sing and play the drums - a hobby which led to him volunteering.
Karen said: “Samuel missed so much of school because of his treatment and the choir has been an amazing support for him.
“His friends have been fantastic at keeping in touch but there are times when he’s felt very isolated.
“We recorded the audition in January, and it was a brilliant experience and such a shock to get the golden buzzer.
“It was a really surreal moment to look up and see the golden ticker tape, and watching it back you can really see the joy on the children’s faces.
“The hardest part has been keeping it a secret since then, and going to work the next day as if nothing had happened.
“There has been such a lovely response [though], and I think it shows that no matter what life throws at you, you have to get on with it and follow your dreams.”
The group is now preparing for the live semi-finals later this month and are rehearsing in Brighton, where Ravi lives, and online.