Boy diagnosed with cancer ready to cycle across Scotland

Rory Rait will be joined by friends Finn Revell and Arran Hooker, along with their dads, in pedalling from Glasgow to Leith on Sunday.

It will mark a remarkable 18 months for the youngster, who has undergone gruelling treatment and an operation.

His mum Kerry said: “Sitting in his hospital bed, hooked up to a cocktail of chemotherapy drugs, wires tangling in an array of untouched puzzle books and craft sets, my amazing eight-year-old son, Rory, decided that when he got out he was going to do something big to help all the other kids in the ward that had it worse than him.

“Cycling was the obvious sport, the open road seeming more appealing than ever, but the route, the distance and the charity were all still up for grabs.

“The only thing he was certain about was that he felt like one of the lucky ones and wanted to give something back as soon as he was able.

“Rory was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in May 2023, just a month after his eighth birthday.

“I slightly sheepishly took him to the GP one morning before school, assuming I was getting myself worked up about a lump that was most likely the innocent result of a football to the groin.

“I had no idea the whirlwind that would start almost immediately, to the huge credit of everyone in Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, and leave us catching our breaths just two weeks later, having gone through multiple scans, tests and a full operation, walking onto the ward with our bags in hand ready for his first round of chemotherapy.”

Kerry, who works as a science adviser for the Scottish Government, highlighted how her son’s life had changed since the diagnosis.

As well as losing all his hair before the end of primary three, Rory, who has a younger sister, Easkey, spent two nights in hospital every three weeks throughout the summer holidays last year.

The youngster also underwent nine rounds of chemotherapy.

She said: “When he wasn't in hospital, he was in school, wearing a cap but otherwise just being an eight-year-old with bad jokes and a cheesy grin.

“He wasn't allowed to do contact sports or swim, so instead of football he went cycling, instead of judo he started going along to his little sister’s Irish dancing classes, and instead of swimming he jumped on his paddleboard.

“Every time the world took something from him, he grabbed something new and carried on smiling!

“Rory finished his last round of chemotherapy in November and had a final operation in February to remove his portacath and end his 'year of needles and jabs'.

“Since then, he's been slowly regaining strength and fitness, his immune system has been recovering and his appetite has returned - all of it helped along by the countless laps of parks and woods and mountain bike trails that he and friends have done on their bikes, and the large volume of cake that all cyclists apparently require as fuel.”

Now, nine-year-old Rory, who has just started primary five at Dunbar Primary School, is getting ready to get on his bike.

(Image: Contributed)

A challenge of riding 100km within a year of completing his treatment was set.

He is aiming to reach the finish line in a single day as he cycles alongside the Union and Forth and Clyde Canals in aid of Team Jak.

The charity provides practical, social and emotional support to children and young people with cancer and related illnesses, their family, friends and those bereaved.

Kerry added: “Choosing a charity was the hard part.

"Rory was helped by so many people and saw so many causes he wanted to give back to but, in the end, it was a day on the ward making teddies with Team Jak that stuck in his mind.

“Settling him into his hospital bed that night, wires attached and beepers beeping, Rory turned to me and said 'actually mummy, today wasn't awful' - in those circumstances, those words were like a complete ray of sunshine to my aching heart.

“Team Jak do a massive amount more than just bring teddy-making kits into the hospital wards, they provide children and families going through cancer with a huge range of social, practical and emotional support, but as a family we will be forever thankful for Rory's 'least worst day' during chemotherapy.”

To support Rory and his friends, go to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Team-Jak-Cycle