LIKE many parents, when Madeleine Shipp’s daughter Aubrey first started complaining of leg pains, she assumed it was nothing more than growing pains.
Then, months later, when the five-year-old woke up covered in spots, the 28-year-old thought she had measles, a highly contagious infection that causes serious problems in some people.
Aubrey was a ‘healthy child’ the type that who ‘never got sick’, her mum says[/caption]
At five-years-old Aubrey was diagnosed with cancer[/caption]
But it was when Aubrey began vomiting blood that Madeleine, a stay-at-home mum-of-three, knew something was terribly wrong.
In April, after she was transferred to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), doctors confirmed Aubrey had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), a rare cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
Before her diagnosis, Aubrey was a “healthy child” the type who “never got sick,” Madeleine said.
“She’s sassy, she loves seeing her friends and going to school. Her favourite subject is science and she wants to be a scientist when she grows up.”
For Madeleine, who lives with her partner James in Essex, the diagnosis “still doesn’t feel real”.
“We just all thought it was growing pains,” she said.
“[Aubrey] actually did the splits at school, so we also thought she’d pulled a muscle in her leg,” the mum added.
Earlier blood tests had come back clear for cancer because it was “too early” to detect the disease.
“She wasn’t showing any of the other symptoms,” Madeleine said.
“Lots of children present with losing weight and feeling tired, being ill, but Aubrey just didn’t have that.”
By spring, Aubrey’s health had rapidly declined.
“She woke up head to toe in spots,” Madeleine recalled.
She initially thought her daughter had measles, so called NHS 111.
“But then she started vomiting blood. I just hung up and rang 999,” she explained.
Paramedics raced her to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, where Madeleine said they were fortunate a haematology doctor was on shift.
“He took one look at her and said, ‘I think I know what the problem is’,” she said.
The disease was initially mistaken for growing pains[/caption]
Aubrey with her mum Madeleine[/caption]
At the time, Madeleine was pregnant with her third child.
She called Aubrey’s dad, Sammy Brock, to join her at the hospital.
“[The doctors] said, ‘I’m really sorry, but she’s got cancer, it’s looking like leukaemia’,” she explained.
“I was very sad, very confused, and I started crying and shouting.”
What is acute lymphoblastic leukaemia?
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells. It progresses quickly and aggressively and requires immediate treatment.
According to the NHS around 790 people diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK.
Although it is rare, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common type of leukaemia that affects children.
Symptoms include:
- Pale skin
- Feeling tired and breathless
- Unusual and frequent bleeding gums or nosebleeds
- High temperature
- Night sweats
- Bone and joint pain
- Easily bruised skin
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Tummy (abdominal pain) – caused by a swollen liver or spleen
- Unintentional weight loss
- A purple skin rash
Aubrey was placed on a ventilator for transfer to GOSH.
“The whole time I’m thinking, ‘Just hold on till we get there. Just wait till we get there.
“Please, just don’t go whilst we’re in an ambulance’,” Madeleine said.
‘Riddled’ with infection
A bone marrow biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of B-cell ALL.
Aubrey was “riddled” with infections and too sick to start treatment straight away.
Nurses plaited her hair and sang Disney songs to calm her, while GOSH’s Play team lifted her spirits with Pokémon hunting games in the corridors.
“I don’t think I would have coped as well as I did if it wasn’t for the support up there,” Madeleine said.
A week later, Aubrey began chemotherapy, followed by immunotherapy.
She lost her hair and suffered complications, including fluid on her lungs, but responded well.
By May, she was well enough to return home.
Now six, Aubrey is on her second round of chemo and will soon move on to maintenance treatment lasting 18 months.
She has missed months of school but is desperate to return.
Aubrey loves school and can’t wait to get back[/caption]
The little girl drems of becoming a scientist when she grows up[/caption]
“We took her to see her Year 2 teacher, and she cried to him, saying, ‘I want to come back now’,” Madeleine said.
“She loves it, she thrives off school. She’s got all of her friends there and she’s very engaged in lessons.”
Madeleine herself was treated at GOSH as a baby and says she will always be grateful.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for GOSH… and Aubrey wouldn’t be here without GOSH,” she said.
“There’s no way she would have been able to survive without every single team working together – Broomfield’s prompt diagnosis and then GOSH supplying all the treatments she needed.”
“Sometimes it doesn’t feel real,” she added.
“You don’t think it’s going to happen to you, you don’t think it’s going to happen to your family, you don’t think it’s going to happen to your kids – but it does and it just catches you off guard.
“We are very lucky that we have the NHS in the UK, and we are very lucky that we’ve got hospitals like GOSH that support families as much as they support children.”
Aubrey with her dad Sammy[/caption]
Aubrey has had chemotherapy and immunotherapy[/caption]
