My 3-year-old daughter was covered in bruises – I thought she had just been falling over but the truth was devastating | The Sun

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A MUM thought her daughter's bruised body was from falling over – but it led to an unexpected and devastating diagnosis.

The parents and nursery workers of Amelia McKie, three, were concerned when she started feeling more tired than usual.



Mum Sam Hunter, 24, from Hartlepool, thought her daughter had contracted a cold but soon began worrying it was leukaemia.

Complaining of pains in her legs and having bruises on her spine, the toddler was taken to A&E.

Sam told Gazette Live: "I just thought maybe she's got a bit of a flu or a bit of a cold, and with the bruising you think maybe she fell over.

"Then there was things like temperatures during the night and she would wake up screaming and she was like 39.5 degrees and we thought what on earth?"

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Amelia's parents tried putting her in a cool bath to bring the temperature down before realising she had a rare form of cancer.

The hospital diagnosed the little girl with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) – which only affects around 790 people in the UK a year.

Sam said she was sat there "streaming with tears" when the doctor told her.

She added: "I'm just looking at this child that looks perfectly well in front of me, that's my little girl, and you just don't know what the future holds anymore.

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"Nothing can prepare you for it."

Amelia is now receiving weekly chemo treatments.

She is part of a clinical trial called ALLtogether – which focuses on improving the quality of survival for children and young adults with the disease.

Treatment will last for the next two and a half years – but her family have confidence in her recovery.

Signs and Symptoms of Childhood Leukemia

According to cancer.org many symptoms of childhood leukemia can have other causes as well, but it is advised to always go to a doctor to be safe.

  • Feeling tired, weak, cold, dizzy or lightheaded.
  • Shortness of breath
  • Paler skin
  • Infections with accompanying fevers that don't seem to go away
  • Easy bruising and bleeding
  • Frequent or severe nosebleeds
  • Bleeding gums
  • Bone or joint pain
  • Swelling of the belly
  • Loss of appetite and eight loss
  • Swollen lymph nodes

For more information click here.

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