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April's Fool day this year took a sinister turn for the Greenwood family from Co Antrim.

Despite their son Ryan being a healthy two-year-old, Portglenone couple, Zara and Barry were dealt a massive blow when they discovered he had a tumour growing at the back of his brain.

The dreadful discovery was made after Ryan developed a cramp in his neck, started to vomit and had difficulty with his balance.

"Ryan was a very healthy boy until that day," said Zara.

"He had CT scans at Antrim hospital before going to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he had an MRI scan which showed an abnormality in the back of his brain which was around 4cm in size.

"He was admitted and on the Monday he had surgery to remove a Pilocytic Astrocytoma Grade 1 which is a slow growing tumour.

"Ryan went into surgery at 9am and we didn't see him again until 10pm that night. It was the worst 12 hours of our lives.

"We spent some time during the day with our daughter Lexi who was one and a half because she wasn't allowed to come in to the hospital but the time just seemed to drag on.

"When Ryan came out of surgery he was in ICU for the next two days before moving on to a general ward. The surgeons were unable to get rid of all the tumour because it was so close to all the major arteries.

"It took Ryan a long time to recover in the hospital and at home, he literally had to learn how to walk and function all over again.. but he has done it and is doing amazing and in July he had his first post surgery MRI which showed the tumour hasn't grown."

With their little son back home in Portglenone, Zara and Barry decided they wanted to do something to help the Paul Ward where Ryan spent his time following surgery.

"The nurses on the Paul Ward were so friendly and up beat which kept him happy at all times, even in between taking his obs which he grew to hate as the days drew on, added the Mum of two.

"Barry and I stayed on that ward every night with Ryan because we were scared to leave him in case something happened. We slept on either a pull out bed, on a sofa in the staff room or in one of the parent rooms provided.

"At home we talked about doing something for the ward because they were so good and it was the least we could do. From we arrived on the Saturday to the operation on the Monday we were so grateful to them.

"They were all great because we were so panicked because we thought we were going to lose Ryan but they gave us hope and explained everything to us so well.

"We contacted the ward to see is there was anything they wanted and they said there was a need for pull out beds and DVDs, basically the things that make children and parents' time there a little easier and more home friendly.

"We have raised £1,380 so far. £695 came from a sponsored walk we did and the rest from donations from friends and family, however, the more we can raise the more we can buy for the ward to make things a little bit more comfortable for other parents who have to go through a similar situation to ourselves.

"It has been an awful experience, it was my worst nightmare and to be honest it's still not even sank in.

"Ryan had a scan on October 7 and we received the amazing news that the tumour still hasn't grown. This is a slow growing tumour and it will grow back but at the moment the news has been great. I'm just so thankful things are looking good for him.

If you would like to donate to help the Paul Ward in the Royal Victoria hospital click here .