Kit Roberts
A nine-year-old girl was diagnosed with bone cancer after doctors initially called her symptoms 'growing pains'.
Ava Ferguson from Edinburgh had complained of some discomfort, but when her mom took her to the doctors, they initially brushed off the symptoms as part of growing up.
However, some days later, Ava would be sent home from school due to the pain that she was experiencing, and at this point, her worried mom, Samantha, took her to the hospital.
At the hospital, doctors suspected that Ava may have a form of ‘reactive arthritis’ due to an earlier viral infection. At Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Ava had her blood taken and was sent home with painkillers.
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But when a haematologist examined Ava's blood sample, the nine-year-old was called back in for further testing. Then, about a month after her first appointment, the family received news every parent dreads.
Tests revealed that Ava had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. According to the National Health Service (NHS), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a rare type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, and it is most common in children and young people, especially children under the age of 4.
Her mom, Samantha, said: “It’s the worst moment I could imagine as a parent or a person, having to hear that. We were absolutely devastated, my husband and I just fell apart."
She added: “It was Friday, so we had to make the decision as to whether we told her or whether we gave ourselves the weekend to process it ourselves.
“Ava is incredibly bright, she knew when we came back into the room. We burst into tears and told her.”
Ava was then started on a course of chemotherapy, staying in the hospital for three weeks and being discharged home just in time to spend Christmas at home.
Now, Ava's illness means that she has a lumbar puncture once a week so that she can receive her chemotherapy in her spine.
Since starting treatment, she has only been able to get into school once to see her friends, and now has two years of chemotherapy ahead of her, as Samantha said: “She’s got two years of treatment, then six months after she’s completed her treatment and been all cleared, she has to go through her immunisations again as if she’s a baby."
She added: “I’d like credit to go to the nurses and the doctors on the ward. We’ve had such great support, and the LoveOliver charity has been really kind, as all the charities have been."
The family also hopes to take Ava to visit the Capybara Cafe in Tokyo, and has set up a GoFundMe to make that dream come true.
“The plan is to get some travel brochures and to go through what she wants to do, and come up with an ideal itinerary for her," she said.
“It will give her focus, but it’s going to be years before we can go.
Samantha also urged anyone who is worried that something might be wrong to get checked out, adding: “Parents just need to trust their instincts when it comes to their children: people don’t know them outside of your home.
“If you think something’s wrong it’s really important to push and get it checked properly.”
You can visit the GoFundMe here.