A Paediatric Doctor from Sale has written a children’s book after being diagnosed with a severe form of brain tumour and it’s inspired by his own son.
Dad-of-one Aria Nikjooy was diagnosed with a Grade 4 Cerebellar Medulloblastoma in November 2018.
He started suffering from crippling headaches – which he initially put down to tiredness and stress – and went through brain surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The tumour was kept at bay until March 2020, but it sadly came back and he underwent a second craniotomy, and then devastatingly, another recurrence came again in July 2020, which resulted in another operation and more cancer treatment.
Aria spent two-and-half months in Salford Royal Hospital recovering from his first brain surgery.
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The operation left him with debilitating after effects – including profuse nausea and vomiting lasting several weeks, which doctors struggled to manage with medication – and he also struggled to speak and had to learn to walk again.
During his hospital stay, he was transferred to The Christie.
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There, he went through six gruelling weeks of radiotherapy as an in-patient, and was finally discharged in January 2019 to begin an intense course of chemotherapy.
Speaking to ITV Granada Reports on his journey, Aria said: “I’d had three out of six cycles of chemo when I started to think enough was enough. Although I seemed to be getting better overall, there are some nasty long-term effects from chemo that I was eager to avoid, like infertility or an increased risk of future cancer.
“My cancer is a rare beast that usually affects children, not adults, therefore, there isn’t much research into what treatments work, and which don’t for me.
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“I eventually decided to stop after four cycles.”
A year after his diagnosis, Aria was able to return to work on the paediatric rheumatology ward at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital on a part-time basis, but only a few months later – in March 2020, just before the UK entered into the first national lockdown – his cancer came back.
Aria was then instructed to self-isolate as he was deemed ‘high-risk’, and underwent a second brain surgery.
He recovered well – returning home after just three nights in hospital – and began another course of radiotherapy, followed by a different type of chemotherapy to try to prevent any tumour regrowth, but the treatment sadly didn’t work and came back once again in July 2020.
Showing true Mancunian fighting spirit though, Aria has once again recovered well from his second ‘lockdown’ brain surgery.
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Now, Aria – who has always had an interest in writing – has written his very own fiction book as part of his recovery and personal therapy to read with his three-year-old son, which covers the difficult topics of illness and cancer in a toddler-friendly way.
The book – which is illustrated by JMZ – is titled Eddie and the Magic Healing Stone.
Aria said: “It tells the story of Eddie the dinosaur, who finds himself in trouble when he goes out for a walk. It’s up to Larry the Lion to find the Magic Healing Stone and save his dad before it’s too late.
“This book is about Eddie and Larry’s special relationship, and gently introduces the concept of sickness [so] I hope little ones will enjoy it,
“Regardless of whether they are dealing with an ill parent or not.
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“It is also just an entertaining story for young children, full of magic and silly characters.”
Eddie and the Magic Healing Stone is available at a number of leading book retailers, and you can also get your hands on it via Amazon here.
Married at First Sight UK is looking for single Mancs to take part in the next series
Emily Sergeant
Would you like to marry a complete stranger?
If you (somehow) answered yes to that question, then you’ll probably be keen to hear that hit Channel 4 reality show, Married at First Sight UK, is currently on the lookout for brave contestants to take part in the next series.
And you’ll probably be even keener to hear that casting directors are urging single Mancs to stick an application in… if they fancy it.
If you haven’t seen Married at First Sight yet, well then firstly, where have you been? And secondly, it’s a dating show like no other that sees singletons marry complete strangers in a social experiment – and it’s undoubtedly binge-worthy and extremely entertaining.
Contestants – who will not have met or had contact with each other until the wedding day – are matched up with their supposed ‘perfect match’, determined by a group of experts who use “scientific matchmaking methods”.
Once the contestants are married off, the camera follows them for five weeks to see whether the new relationship is a success or not.
Calling on singletons to put their faith in the matchmaking service, Channel 4 wrote in the casting announcement on the ‘Take Part’ section of its website: “If you are ready to swipe left to the dating apps and say ‘I do’ at the altar, then our experts are here to help you find the one.”
Channel 4 wants singletons to put their faith in the matchmaking service / Credit: Channel 4
Casting directors say singles of all ages, backgrounds, gender identities, and sexualities are “welcome to apply” for the new series.
Fancy it then?
Applications are currently open for the next series, and to apply to the show, you just need to be over 18 years of age, live in the UK, and feel ready for marriage.
‘Game’s gone’: Manchester City had an unexpected commentator in the Champions League last night – Noel Gallagher
Danny Jones
In case you weren’t tuned into the Champions League action, you’ll no doubt be surprised to hear who served as a special guest commentator for Manchester City last night: Noel Gallagher.
As you do.
Believe it or not, we’re not pulling your leg; the iconic Manc musician wasn’t just at the stadium to watch his beloved Blues in Lisbon on Wednesday evening, he was given the opportunity to join Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist in the commentary box for their game against Sporting CP.
In what was a first not only for TNT Sports but indeed a major televised football competition too, Noel Gallagher didn’t just share a few quick words about his club before or after the game from pitchside, he was on co-comms alongside the professionals for the entire game.
Safe to say there were a few fair double-takes when people switched on the telly to hear the guy who usually sings ‘Little by Little’ talking about possession and pass completion rates.
Although ‘Fletch’ and McCoist naturally did most of the heavy lifting on the night, the older Gallagher brother was regularly turned to throughout the game. In fact, we were surprised to hear just how many times one of the two broadcasters uttered ‘Noel?’ to get his thoughts.
Gallagher’s association with the club has only grown stronger in recent years, having often given his thoughts pre and post-match at the Etihad – not to mention most recently collaborating on an official Oasis ‘Definitely City’ clothing collection – but this was very left-field, to say the least.
Obviously trying to hold his bias as best he could, the 57-year-old was actually rather critical of Man City before, during and after the match, especially with their results of late, initially predicting a 2-2 draw but warning of more goals in the second half when the two teams went in at the break level with one a piece.
Nevertheless, the decision to get a celebrity turned pundit in the commentary box was just too jarring for some watching at home, and many took issue with the fact that a very famous City fan became the focal point of their otherwise regularly scheduled programming and impartial coverage.
While there were plenty that no doubt did enjoy the special one-off guest appearance by the legendary songwriter and guitar player as a bit of fun to mix things up, the vast majority slammed TNT, calling it everything from “embarrassing” and “a joke” to asking, “What the fuck is football coming to?”
To sum up the general consensus in one very cliched footballing sentiment, the phrase seen most online was simply: “The game’s gone.”
Noel fuckin Gallagher in commentary. Seriously. Another nail in the coffin of modern broadcasting. Imagine tuning in to United v Juventus in the 90s and having to listen to Rick Astley.
The Times‘ take on Noel Gallagher moonlighting at commentator was to dub it a stunt that “represented the world going completely bonkers”, quipping, “What’s next, Ozzy [Osbourne] on [Aston] Villa?”
Besides commentary itself, very few would have predicted the outcome at full-time and certainly not the scoreline, as Sporting won the game 4-1 with three comeback goals scored inside just 11 minutes and a final blow delivered by in-form striker Viktor Gyökeres to round off his hattrick.
In the end, it turned out a few Reds managed to get some enjoyment out of the surprise appearance as there was double the irony in that not only did City go on to lose while Noel was commentating but it was also at the hands of Rúben Amorim, the head coach set to take over at Manchester United next week.
One person fan wrote, “I take it all back whoever decided to put Noel Gallagher in the commentary box is a f***ing genius” while another added, “Can we have Noel on co-comms every week?”
What did you make of getting a celebrity on co-commentary – is it something you’d like to see more of or was it not your cup of tea? You can watch the highlights from their significant defeat, their heaviest since September 2020 and a rare margin for Man City in the Guardiola era, down below.
It’s the first time Manchester City have lost three games in a row since 2018.