When the doctors asked mum Stacie Murray to follow them into a quiet room, she knew something was seriously wrong.

The morning had started like any other in the family home in Parish Close, Minster, except her two-year-old son Callum had woken up with a slight cold.

Stacie said: “He had a slight temperature and runny nose, but I thought it must be a virus and wasn’t awfully concerned.

“But I thought I would take him to the doctor’s and get him some antibiotics.”

When Stacie, who teaches at Oasis Academy, arrived at the St George’s Medical Centre, a GP examined Callum and noticed a few pin-prick marks on his torso.

Stacie and Callum, accompanied by her father William, then went to Medway Maritime’s paediatrics unit for further testing following a referral.

“I thought it was a precaution and Callum seemed fine, I was getting ready to take him home after the first doctor looked at him,” Stacie said.

However, the hospital registrar carried out another assessment in which he noted Callum’s spleen and liver were enlarged.

He immediately advised more tests – including an ultrasound and X-ray – and advised them to stay in the ward overnight, at which point Stacie, 34, asked her sister. Lauren, to come to the hospital.

The mum-of-three said: “I was a little worried, but he still seemed fine.

“They ran tests and the consultant came out and asked a nurse to take Callum for a stroll in the buggy.

“They said they had been running tests for glandular fever and leukaemia and he said they were sorry, but he had leukaemia.”

“The information was going in but I wasn’t processing it.

“I left the room and then collapsed and hit the floor crying and screaming – they had to pull me in the room because I couldn’t move.”

Callum was immediately placed in a private room to prevent him from coming into contact with any germs that could compromise his immune system and Stacie and his dad, Nathan, kept a bedside vigil.

The shock diagnosis came over Christmas, and sisters Keanna, 16, and Allana, 10, stayed with relatives before, on December 28, Callum was transferred to Royal Marsden Hospital to begin his first course of chemotherapy.

Although Callum is back living at home, he is still undergoing extensive treatment, which is expected to continue for at least three years.

Stacie added: “He’s dealing with it well and responding to treatment, but it’s tough; physically, he can’t do much, and sometimes just touching him causes pain.”

A Gofundme page has been set up to help support the family.