A grieving mother lived with her teen's corpse after doctors brushed off his cancer as toothache. Lianne Roban had to cover her 13-year-old son Kian's body with a sheet after he passed away on Easter Sunday at their home in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. The tragedy came just a week before he turned 14 after the youngster faced a long battle with Ewing sarcoma - an aggressive form of bone cancer.

The condition - which is most often found in children and young adults - wasn't diagnosed for months. His mother took him to the hospital five times over the course of two months after swelling blew up his face, but was told it was a tooth coming through each time.

Speaking to the Online, his mother said: "[They said] there are people coming in from A&E who need it more than Kian - it’s not life or death."

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Eventually, a doctor listened to Lianne and they discovered a huge tumour burrowing inside Kian's cheek. He was rushed to intensive care before undergoing months of chemotherapy. His family thought he was out of the woods, but a scan last year destroyed their hope as an inoperable tumour was detected in his brain.

Further tragedy came on the day Kian died when his mother was forced to live with the body of her dead son due to a mix up with the hospice. Lianne took a sheet and covered her boy's body, surrounding it with fans because of the flies attracted to it. Hospice workers had incorrectly told her that funeral directors would be closed on Bank Holidays.

She told the Mail: "His room started to get warm. My neighbours, bless them, brought fans to try to keep his body cool."

Finally, his body was moved to an undertakers, but further delays mean he can't be buried as his death hasn't been registered.

Lianne had set up a to raise money so she could enjoy the last weeks with her son. On the page, she said: her son, Lianne said: "It's been a week since Kian's gone. I'm exhausted, we celebrated his birthday yesterday.

"Unfortunately we haven't been able to register his death and by extension we've been unable to put his funeral plans in place, I wanted to give you all more information about his celebration of life, but there is none at the moment.

"The funeral home as well as me and my family have been held at a standstill waiting around for his hospice to forward details to our GP which was only done today after calls from other professionals and my family to move things along, there's a lot of things that have been happening that have made me upset during and after Kian's passing that I can't make sense of but I won't go too much into it.

"I just want to send him off finally with dignity. I'm hoping now that the GP have Kian's information we can finally register his death and move things along."

Earlier, she said: "We held his hand, sang to him and kissed him and told him it was okay to let go and we'll meet again and he did, he let go.

"My heart has shattered into million pieces, we managed to keep him calm and comfortable up until the evening he passed where he was breathing fast and scared, I never wanted him to be scared.

"When the funeral director came to pick him his face had relaxed and he was smiling, I imagine that's how he feels...finally at peace."

A spokesperson for Keech Hospice told the Mail: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of Kian, and our thoughts are with Ms Roban and her family at this incredibly difficult time.

"The death of a child is one of the most devastating experiences a family can face. We are committed to providing the highest quality, individually tailored care for every child and family we support.

"We support children and their families in decisions around their care and what matters to them most.

"Our children’s service is always open and the hospice is staffed by care professionals at any time. Night or day, every day of the year.

"Families are also given the choice about where their child is cared for after death. At the hospice, we have a special suite where families can spend precious time with their child, regardless of where the death occurred.

"This facility was made available to the Roban family, but their choice was to be at home. A chilled mattress and advice were therefore provided.

"Our team were supporting in the family’s home until the early hours to provide end of life care, and were present at Kian’s sad death. And again, the team were present the next day.

"In relation to other comments made regarding Kian’s care, due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to share specific details. However, we always strive to give the highest quality care.

"We remain committed to supporting all families with compassionate, dignified, and respectful care during the most difficult of times.

"We understand this is a distressing time and we are keen to understand the Roban family’s experiences — their feedback is always valuable to us."