Girl given devastating diagnosis after aches were dismissed as 'growing pains'
An 11-year-old girl was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer after her early symptoms were dismissed as "growing pains".
When Isabelle Vella complained of nagging pains in her leg, her parents Al and Faye told her it was simply "growing pains" or a torn ligament due to her training for a triathlon. Al and Faye did, though, take their daughter to the GP after the aches persisted and she was referred for an X-ray.
Faye "collapsed" when doctors told her Isabelle had osteochondroma, a bone cancer which typically affects less than 35 children in the UK every year. The condition often starts at the end of the long bones, where new bone tissue forms as a young person grows.
Al said: "My wife took her to the doctor while I was at work. We just couldn't believe it, my wife collapsed at the hospital. We were both in pieces on the phone. Isabelle is very bright, she knew straight away what it was. The ironic thing is that prior to the appointment she had asked us 'is it cancer?' and we had told her not to be so ridiculous."
But the diagnosis in April rocked the once carefree youngster and her family, of Cambridgeshire, as medics told the relatives any chance of a recovery - albeit not certain - would take years. Isabelle needs specialist therapies, and potentially may require prosthetics, wheelchairs, and other equipment. It is likely Al and Faye will have to adapt their home too.
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The parents have created a GoFundMe page with the hope to help cover the spiralling costs. The therapies vary, and most of which are not immediately available on the NHS.
But the girl has had two rounds of chemotherapy, the common treatment the NHS does offer, and faces either an amputation of her right leg or several complex limb salvage operations at the start of August.
"She won't be able to do a triathlon anymore or any contact sports going forward. I have no doubt that she'll find a wheelchair sport in the future, maybe even go towards something like the Paralympics," Al told Mail Online.
"There are so many unknowns at the moment. She's had her ovaries removed and frozen which they can hopefully put back in later in life and a peg in her stomach to feed her. She has a massive zest for life but what has been taken away from her has completely destroyed us. We have no option but to carry on and be strong for her."
Bone grafts or metal implants will be used in an attempt to save as much of Isabelle's leg as possible. This will involve frequent visits to hospital but Al says his brave daughter, a keen drummer, continues to "remain smiling".
Faye added: "We get our strength from her. She is one of a kind. She is scared but she knows that she needs to go through this... I know it sounds silly but it was such a shock to see how poorly the chemo made her. It is devastating seeing your lovely child confined to her bed and not even be able to talk because they feel so ill. Just totally heartbreaking."
Offering advice to other parents, Al said: "My advice to others would be if you have any concerns, get it seen to. Any aches or pains with your kids, you just never know what it really could be."
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