'Doctors said my daughter had anxiety - but what she had was my worst nightmare'
Skye was later diagnosed with cancer.
A mum has told how she suffered every parent's worst nightmare - as the pain in her daughter's side turned out to be cancer. Christina Harris took Skye to their GP when she complained of the sharp pain, which was accompanied by a fever and breathlessness that came out of nowhere.
And the 46-year-old said that medics told her initially that her 10-year-old was actually suffering from anxiety. But Christina knew that it was unlike her 'bubbly and active' daughter and that there was more to it. But she was not prepared for what was about to come after acting on her mother's instinct and taking her to A&E a few days later.
Christina, of Essex, told The Mirror: "Sometimes you just have to go with your instincts when you know something is wrong". Determined to know what was causing her daughter to be in pain, doctors then did several scans, including an X-ray and noticed shadowing on Skye's ribcage.
"They initially thought it may be an infection or something and gave her some antibiotics to clear it up," Christina recalled. "I hoped this was the case, and we went home with antibiotics." But after a few days, and still unsure, Christina rushed her daughter back to A&E after Skye had another temperature in the middle of the night.
She knew deep down her daughter wasn't getting any better. "You just go into a pilot mode, I was blocking out any type of negative thoughts I was having, and just wanted what was best for my daughter." During this visit, doctors then found Skye's lungs full of mucus. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, which was the reason for her excruciating pain.
And after further investigation and more blood tests, it turned out to be something much worse. On December 7, 2021, the keen dancer was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), a rare type of blood cancer and was blue-lighted to Great Ormond Street Hospital to begin her chemotherapy treatment.
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She said: "I knew something wasn't right, she kept complaining of this pain, even in her sleep, it wasn't normal". But after a few days, and still unsure, Christina rushed her daughter back to A&E after Skye had another temperature in the middle of the night, and she knew deep down her daughter wasn't getting any better.
The Mirror reports she said: "It was scary when they told me she had pneumonia. Obviously I did not anticipate what was to come. It's every parent's worst nightmare." Christina, a mother of two, sadly lost her job as an estate agent because she needed to support her daughter and became a full-time carer.
Her son Marley, 13 at the time, was able to spend time at his dad's house more frequently as Christina cared for Skye. She said: "You just know deep down when something isn't right, but I never thought it would be that Skye had leukaemia, you just have to go with your instincts in these moments and I am so glad I did.
"When we got the news, I just went into flight mode and I couldn't think of anything other than the fact my daughter had cancer. I cried so much when we got to Great Ormond Street, but in a strange way, I finally felt safe. I was just so pleased that they had found out what was wrong." Skye then spent 11 days in Great Ormond Street, where she began her chemotherapy treatment.
"We were at Great Ormond Street multiple times a week, as well as appointments at our local hospital too. She was having such aggressive chemotherapy which went on for six months. I had to also make sure I was keeping an eye on her temperature, as if it went to 38 degrees I'd need to rush her to hospital. I knew when she wasn't right."
Skye was put on strong antibiotics every time she had a high fever due to her weakened immune system and was having chemotherapy given in multiple ways, including into her thigh, as well as into her spine. She added: "This type of leukaemia is one of the longest cancer treatments for children and it made Skye really poorly."
Skye finished her treatment after a year, and then moved on to maintenance chemotherapy, designed to help keep cancer from coming back after it has disappeared following the initial therapy. While she felt extremely unwell during her treatment, Skye said she enjoyed going to Great Ormond Street as she had become friends with all of the doctors and nurses.
She was also treated to takeaways and feasted on food when she felt up to it. Skye said: "I wasn't at school and I wasn't making any friends so it was hard, but I got to know all of the nurses and they were really nice to me. It wasn't a nice experience but I managed to find some joys in between.
"My mum let me have any kind of food I wanted so we would always get a Nando's or a Pizza Express. This type of leukaemia is one of the longest cancer treatments for children and it made Skye really poorly." Skye finished her treatment after a year, and then moved on to maintenance chemotherapy, designed to help keep cancer from coming back after it has disappeared initially.
Recalling the time spent in hospital, Chrisina said it was "horrendous" and detailed: "It was really hard. You never want this for anyone, let alone your own children and it was really difficult. I think you just sort of switch off from everything else and just go into this type of pilot mode.
"You have to give her everything she needs and I got to a point where I had this diary where I'd tick off hour by hour which medication I was giving her. She needed certain medications at exact times so it was a lot to do - I was basically a nurse looking after her. I was trying to just block out any negative thoughts and just focus on giving her what she needed.
"The first nine months, when she was having the most intensive part of the treatment, we couldn't leave the house and the only people that could come in were the nurses. My parents live in Denmark so I was doing it all alone, and my son Marley had to get dropped at his dad's a lot of the time, especially when Skye needed to be rushed into hospital quickly."
Skye was finally able to ring the bell on March 30 last year and has been in remission since. She also celebrated with an end of treatment party, something she had been looking forward to for the past three years." Now 13, Skye is doing really well and says she wants to be a nutritionist at GOSH.
She said: "I really want to be a nutritionist, my time in treatment has really inspired me to help others like the way the doctors and nurses have helped me. GOSH Charity is currently raising £300m to build a new Children's Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street, which will help thousands of children like Skye. Skye and her mum Christina say the new centre will be "amazing" for patients like her.
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Max's parents Paul and Emma told how their son, now 17, had grown into a young man with a job and a driving licence. They said that it was all thanks to the selfless decision of Keira's dad Joe Ball to donate his daughter's organs as her mum Loanna lay in a coma following the car accident. The Mirror joined Max on the River Weaver in his hometown of Winsford, Cheshire, as he told us of his love of fishing, his new car and his first job. He has never forgotten the debt owed to the donor family who have made his life possible. He said: "I think it's brilliant because even now, recently, we got an email saying how the law still makes a difference. "It's nice to know that it's helped people down the line." On the day of his heart transplant, in August, 2017, he remembers giving his dad a hug in case he 'did not see him again'. "I do remember the downsides, the drive line that you have to carry around with you," he added. "But I also remember the positives. It is good to know that the law will save lives. "I remember giving my dad a hug. I think even at the age of nine I was thinking that I might not make it. So of course I'm going to hug my dad." He paid tribute to the skill of surgeon Asif Hasan, and remembers seeing his heart being removed and replaced as it was filmed for a TV documentary, another historic world first. He is still in touch with Keira's family, her parents Joe and Loanna, Bradley, 15, Katelyn, 19, and 20-year-old Keely. He had a 'moving' first meeting with them as Keira's siblings listened to their sister's heart beating in his chest using a stethoscope. And he made sure that Keira was named in the law after making an appeal to Prime Minister Theresa May. "I'm glad she listened," he said. "She did think about my request and gave her full credit." Now, he is studying for GCSEs before he intends to do an engineering qualification, and may yet try to become a fireman. "I think that would be an exciting job," he said. 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"Our thoughts never stray far from Keira and the Ball family, because none of this would have happened without them. Thanks to the tireless work of NHS Blood and Transplant, numerous brilliant charities, an army of volunteers and, of course, The Mirror, organ donation remains in the public consciousness. "If the law change has helped with this work, then we are delighted and humbled. Please, have that conversation, so that you leave those that matter certain about your wishes." Keira's mum Loanna, 40, of Barnstaple in Devon, told the Mirror that her daughter's name 'will live on forever' in the new law. She said: "It means that her life was not wasted. So much good has come from that devastating loss for us, she has benefited so many people by donating her organs. "I would still choose for her to be here with us, but the law change and the donations were a marvellous thing because I hear of Max and Keira's Law and we know that it took the two of them to make that happen. "I see photos of Max now and he is a young man, he is all grown up, he is not that little boy any more. Keira saved his life and will never be forgotten." There are around 277 children in the UK waiting for an organ transplant, according to the NHS. That includes 141 who need a kidney, 76 waiting for a liver and 43 who need a heart transplant with many children on the waiting list relying on organs from a child who has died. Anthony Clarkson, Director for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant said: "The opt-out legislation is an important piece of the whole jigsaw to improving organ donation, transplant, and consent rates. "We continually develop our regular training programmes in consent skills for our specialist nurses and work closely with bereaved families to better understand donation decisions. "As with our partnerships with the DVLA, Passport Office and the NHS App, the change in the law is another tool in helping garner as much support for organ donation as possible and educate the public on why it is so important. "It's important to remember that deemed consent was not introduced as a replacement for expressed consent. Many people still want to record their donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register. "Families value this confirmation when supporting donation, making the decision a lot easier at an already very difficult time. "The best way to ensure your organ donation decision is supported when you die is to declare it on the NHS Organ Donor Register." Almost 90 percent of families supported their loved one's organ donation last year when they had expressed their decision to donate before their death, whether through the NHS Organ Donor Register or verbally to their family.
