In March 2021 it was a sunny afternoon and we decided to go out and have an Easter lunch with our close friends and part of our Dubai family, The Millers.  Sophie (aged 7 at the time) said that she felt tired and so didn’t want to run around playing and just sat quietly with the adults. When they reached home Tanya (Sophie’s mummy) checked her temperature and she had a fever, everything else was ok. It was during covid times and so when the fever was still present the next day she had a covid test and was negative. Her fever persisted but there were no other symptoms so she was then taken to the doctor. She was admitted to hospital the next day after blood tests showed some abnormalities and to have further investigations. Unfortunately the investigations led to the diagnosis of acute Lymphoblastic leukaemia. Sophie then spent months in hospital undergoing chemotherapy and having various procedures before eventually being allowed to stay at home and going into hospital for chemotherapy. She is still having treatment and still undergoing tests but the end is nearly in sight for her. One of the key thing with Sophie’s road to recovery, apart from her and her family being true warriors, is that the leukaemia was identified so quickly and that she got 5 star treatment . Sophie has been amazingly brave throughout this journey as have her amazing family. 

I wanted to run the London marathon for Sophie because she is such a superstar and to raise money for a CCLG so that they can continue research and development into leukaemia and childrens cancer  and continue to provide support for families that need it.

A little bit about CCLG: 

Each week in the UK and Ireland, more than 30 children are diagnosed with cancer and around 1 in 8 children do not survive. Every mile you run for #TeamCCLG will help to fund information and research that enables quicker diagnosis and kinder more effective treatments, shaping a future where every child diagnosed with cancer survives to live happy, healthy and independent lives.

A little bit about Leukaemia:

Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer, accounting for nearly a third of all cases (31% and 29% in boys and girls, respectively) in Great Britain. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (which is what Sophie has) accounts for around four-fifths (78%) of all leukaemias diagnosed in children in the UK.

The survival rate for children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is over 90%.

Until the 1960s childhood leukaemia was incurable. Today, thanks to improvements in care and sustained investment in research, the outlook for young patients diagnosed with ALL has dramatically improved.

Symptoms can include:

- Fever

- Fatigue

- Repeated infections

- Shortness of breath

- Bone or joint pain 

- Bruising or bleeding