Mum of little Scots girl diagnosed with cancer tells others 'you are not alone'
03.12.2023 - 11:45
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
The heartbroken mum of little Scots girl diagnosed with blood cancer has sent a message of hope to others battling the cruel disease.
Heidi was only three when her family was told she had B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Mum Mellissa, from South Lanarkshire, said she first noticed something wasn't right a few weeks before her daughter's birthday. Heidi was constantly unwell. She was lethargic, refused to walk and would vomit - her temperature also kept spiking. Each time they were told Heidi, now five, had viral infections.
Speaking to Glasgow Live, Mellissa said: "One day she became very jaundiced so I took her again to see our GP. We were told to go straight to hospital for blood tests. At our local hospital they took bloods and Heidi was taken by ambulance immediately to The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, where she received an emergency blood transfusion.
“After various blood tests, another blood transfusion and a bone marrow biopsy, Heidi was finally diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. She started treatment straight away.
“When we received the news, our hearts sank and we were angry and terrified that we had somehow caused this, but it was also a relief in a way as we had been fighting to find out for so long why Heidi was so sick all the time."
The proud mum describes her little girl, who has just turned five, as a “very creative girly girl, who loves make-up, drawing and dressing up. She also adores dogs and luckily her grandparents have three, which keep her busy on the days she gets to visit.”
Heidi is currently in the maintenance part of her treatment, which entails weekly visits to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, where she has blood tests and receives chemotherapy.
“We still have