UK schoolboy begs mum for leg amputation after shock 'suicide disease' diagnosis

A 10-year-old boy begged his mum to get his leg amputated after he was diagnosed with a condition so painful it’s dubbed the ‘suicide disease'.

Dillon Wilford was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome back in late January after months of trying to find a diagnosis for his excruciating pain.

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a poorly understood condition where a person experiences persistent severe and debilitating pain.

The condition is so sensitive even the slightest touch to the affected area causes severe pain.

Now his mum Melanie Wilford is trying to raise £100,000 to take Dillon to America to get a specialised treatment that’s not available in the UK.

Dillon first started showing symptoms back in November 2021 when he woke up with a limp – he spent the day at school but by the end of the day he was left in debilitating pain.

After months of hospital visits and many stumped professionals, Dillion was finally diagnosed with CRPS by a doctor in his local Bolton Hospital.

Single mum-of-four Melanie, 47, and her daughter Maddison, 24, have been helping to care for the in-pain schoolboy.

Melanie, a student nurse, said: “I want to raise awareness for it. There was no trigger for it. It was completely random, he woke up one morning and he was limping. That night he screamed all night horrifically. The next day I took him to A&E and they said there was nothing wrong with him. 

Poor Dillon’s condition is so severe that his mum can’t even touch the affected area without Dillon being subject to horrific pain. 

"He’s begged me to have his leg removed. He told me he wanted to die. It’s horrific to watch my cheeky boy end up like this. People need to know how bad it is. For a little boy who has this, he hasn’t been to school in three months.”