'I couldn't lift head off pillow - they said I wouldn't make Christmas'
A mother-of-four who was told she "wouldn't make it to Christmas" after being diagnosed with leukaemia has performed a cartwheel every single day to mark reaching remission. Urban designer Lucy Musgrave, 58, from London, received her acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) diagnosis - a " very aggressive" form of blood cancer - in September 2021 following bouts of severe fatigue.
Her consultant warned that without immediate treatment, she wouldn't survive until Christmas that year. Lucy, who founded research and urban design practice Publica, received blood transfusions and began intensive chemotherapy within days, enduring six months of hospital stays throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following her inpatient care in March 2022, she commenced maintenance chemotherapy and in November that year, friends whisked her away to Mexico, where she performed 12 cartwheels on the beach - one to "mark every month of survival".
From January 2023, Lucy has executed a cartwheel daily - including at the Old Bailey, outside St Paul's Cathedral and on the red carpet at the Baftas - and has partnered with Leukaemia UK for the charity's new Cartwheel for a Cure campaign to generate funds for vital research.
Lucy, who is now dubbed the "Cartwheel Queen", said: "I dived straight into the sea and when I came out, I did 12 cartwheels on the beach (in Mexico) – one for each month of that terrible year. That moment of joy sparked something.
"The survival rates for AML are absolutely devastating, which is why I'm doing all the fundraising. I don't want anyone, any family, to ever, ever, ever have to go through what we went through."
According to Leukaemia UK, nearly 3,100 people receive an AML diagnosis in the UK each year, with almost 80% failing to survive beyond five years. Signs include tiredness, pallid skin, regular infections, breathlessness, unexplained weight loss, easy bruising and bleeding, plus bone pain.
Lucy revealed she had experienced "mild shingles" – a viral infection – during spring 2021 and felt completely drained.
"We went on holiday down to Cornwall, and I literally couldn't lift my head off the pillow – it was terrible," she recalled.
Lucy, who lives with husband Zad, the founder of Atomized Studios, arranged a video consultation with her GP, who suggested she had "picked up another virus".
But as her exhaustion continued, she sensed something wasn't right and booked a private appointment with a different GP.
"I went to see this GP, he took a blood test, and he phoned me the next day and said, 'Could you go to A&E now, please?'," Lucy said.
"I just thought, 'Well, thank goodness someone's taking this seriously. I haven't got post-viral fatigue'."
Lucy recounted her experience at University College London Hospital (UCLH), where she was so exhausted that she could barely sit upright and had to lie down on an empty hospital bed. After a nurse performed a bone marrow biopsy, she was moved to another ward and informed that her husband had been called to the hospital.
"I thought, 'OK, here we go. I'm going to be told I've got cancer and, well, that's OK. I've had this amazing life and I've been so lucky'," Lucy said. "What's the worst thing they could tell me? They're going to tell me I've got six months to live."
On September 9, 2021, a consultant broke the news to Lucy that she had AML and, without treatment, she might only have three months left.
She said: "The consultant said it's curable and it was his job to ensure I made it to my 80s or 90s, but if we didn't start treatment straight away, I wouldn't make it to Christmas. I never thought it would be less than six months... so I said, 'Bring it on. When can we start?' But then I looked to my side and saw my husband looking completely broken. It hit me then that this wasn't just about me, but this was going to be incredibly difficult and traumatic for my family too, particularly my daughters."
Surrounded by her "incredible" team of medics and nursing staff, Lucy felt reassured about her treatment programme and began chemotherapy within days. Despite enduring side effects including mouth ulcers, sickness and losing her hair, Lucy said concentrating on "positive energy" and backing from family helped her through the moments when she felt "broken".
"People say this language of 'fighting cancer', but with blood cancer, it's literally in every cell of your body. You can't fight your own body," she said.
"I just knew I had this minuscule piece of energy.... and, in my mind, I just kept thinking, if I can hang on to that positive energy and if I can grow it, I can get through this."
Lucy finished her hospital treatment in March 2022 and began a year of ongoing chemotherapy and is now in remission. The "surreal" experience of her shocking diagnosis and recovery prompted Lucy to launch a fundraising campaign – and it all began with 12 cartwheels on holiday in Mexico.
"I'm here because of medical science and the NHS and a lot of love," she said. "Doctors said at the time that, if I had been diagnosed five years earlier, they wouldn't have been able to treat me. That's why I'm cartwheeling – it's this tiny movement for joy, this tiny bit of positive energy."
Since January 2023, Lucy has been performing a cartwheel every day, no matter where she is, and filming it to celebrate her remission. She's managed to raise more than £28,500 for the Haematology Cancer Care (HCC) unit at UCLH.
Her cartwheels have taken place at iconic locations such as the Old Bailey, Tube stations, and even outside St Paul's Cathedral. She's also hoping to perform her acrobatic feat with the Lionesses and at various institutions like ballet schools, sports clubs, and primary schools across the country.
After completing her 1,000th cartwheel in June, Lucy kicked off a new national campaign with Leukaemia UK called Cartwheel for a Cure. She hopes this "movement for joy" will help raise as much money as possible.
"I want to spend the next 12 months limbering up the nation and practising our cartwheels, and then on June 30 forevermore, it will be national cartwheeling day and we're going to raise a lot more money on that day," she declared. Lucy is urging people not to hesitate in getting any unusual symptoms checked out and to never be afraid to "ask for help".
"The sad thing is that every family in the UK is going to be touched in some shape or form by cancer," she said. "I've learned to squeeze every inch and ounce out of life because of this life-threatening disease and now I'm fearless. I'm hoping I'll be cartwheeling into my 80s."
For more information, visit: leukaemiauk.org.uk/cartwheel-for-a-cure, or search @lucy. musgrave or @cartwheelforacure on Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
2 hours ago
- ITV News
'Inspirational' mum-of-seven from Suffolk secures place at university to study midwifery
A mother who juggled a job and a college course while looking after seven children has gained a place at university to study midwifery. Emily Porter, 38, from Mildenhall in Suffolk, had always told her children that if they worked hard, they could be anything they want to be - and so, she decided to lead by example. Waking up at 4am to keep on top of her coursework before her children got up in the morning, Ms Porter said that it hadn't been easy but that she felt she could 'take the world on' now she has gained her place on the midwifery course. Ms Porter, whose children are aged between two and 16, completed four functional skills qualifications and a health-related access course. She did this at the West Suffolk College learning centre in Thetford, Norfolk and at Eastern and Education Group's University and Professional Development Centre in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 'I never thought I was clever enough to be a midwife,' said Ms Porter. 'But I always say to my kids that as long as you set your mind to something, you can be anything you want to be. 'Pilots and doctors are human just like you. 'But then I wasn't following the advice I was giving to them. 'So I decided to go back to college and give it everything I've got. 'I was looking after my seven children, working in a pub a couple of nights a week and studying between 4am and 7am, before the kids got up, and at weekends. 'It was a struggle but I kept at it. I never quit.' She said her message to others is 'you can always find a way – you just need to look for it'. 'I've always been so insecure in my ability in education,' said Ms Porter. 'But when you want something so bad you go above and beyond. 'I'm lucky to have such a good support network. I have so many cheerleaders in my corner. 'I'm blown away (by the prospect of going to university). 'I might have a bit of imposter syndrome at the start, but once I'm in there, the only way is up and the only thing to do is complete the degree. 'I sometimes sit there and think about graduating. It makes me emotional.' She said she left school with grades 'that weren't very good' but decided, just after the Covid-19 pandemic, that she wanted 'to do something that means something and makes a difference'. She had an interest in becoming a midwife and researched how she could achieve this. She said the college support was 'amazing', adding: 'They have gone out of their way to help me and you are set up not to fail. 'Now I think that I can take the world on.' Ian Evans, head of personal and professional learning at the West Suffolk College centre in Thetford, said: 'Emily has been a superb student who is a total inspiration. 'We are thrilled to have been able to support her as she follows her dreams of becoming a midwife.'
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Anti-vax' mum ‘interrupted' paramedics trying to save dying daughter- claiming heart attack was her ‘choking on food'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE mum of a young model who died after refusing chemotherapy for cancer "presented a challenge" to paramedics trying to save her daughter's life. Paloma Shemirani, 23, from Uckfield, East Sussex, was diagnosed at Maidstone Hospital with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in December 2023. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Paloma Shemirani (pictured) died of a heart attack after refusing chemotherapy Credit: Facebook 7 Her mum Kay 'Kate' Shemirani (pictured) has been accused of interrupting paramedics trying to save her life Credit: Rex 7 The 23-year-old Cambridge graduate was also a Miss Universe Great Britain 2021 finalist Credit: Facebook She died seven months later in July 2024 after seeking only "alternative" treatments, which included green juices and coffee enemas. Her mum, Kay 'Kate' Shemirani is a former nurse, struck off in 2021 for spreading anti-medicine and anti-vaccine Covid-19 misinformation. She has, in public, expressed views against chemotherapy, by calling the treatment dangerous and toxic - which she has since said is "not true" at an ongoing inquest into Paloma's death. When Paloma collapsed at her mother's home on July 19 paramedic Robin Bass said Kate "presented a challenge as she kept interrupting while the crews were carrying out care", the BBC reports. He told the coroner that Kate mentioned a mass on her daughter's chest. When Robin told colleagues it could be cancer, he said Kate denied it was. Instead, Kate said Paloma was choking on food. Paloma, a Cambridge graduate and a Miss Universe Great Britain 2021 finalist, then died just five days later at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton after suffering a heart attack caused by her tumour. Dr Peter Anderson, who saw her when paramedics brought her in, previously told the inquest a large mass in her chest and neck. He said the mass was compressing her airways and affecting major blood vessels, could have caused the cardiac arrest. A safeguarding report was later requested over concerns about Paloma's rejection of cancer treatment and the "possible influence" of her mother. Benjamin Zand interviews Kate Shemirani for new QAnon documentary The Cult of Conspiracy Paloma's twin brother, Gabriel, who blames her death on his mother's conspiratorial beliefs, previously told the inquest that when Paloma was first diagnosed she was considering chemotherapy. She only rejected the treatment, which she was told would give her an 80 per cent chance of recovery, when her parents started to pressure her against it, he claimed. "I blame my mother entirely for my sister's death", he said, by "obstructing" his sister from receiving treatment. The former nurse said she would have supported her daughter 'physically and financially' whatever her decision on receiving treatment. Alison Hewitt, counsel at the inquest, asked Kate last week: 'It is the case, isn't it, that you have expressed publicly views which are contrary to chemotherapy... you consider chemotherapy is a dangerous and toxic process and one that you wouldn't advise someone suffering cancer undergoes?' At the time, Kate branded the question 'slanderous' and 'not true', adding: 'In all my public appearances I say people should get all the information and then decide.' 7 Paloma's brother, Gabriel Shemirani (pictured) blames his mum for his twin's death Credit: Louis Wood 7 Paloma used green juices and coffee enemas to try and treat her cancer Credit: Facebook When pushed on whether she had described chemotherapy as mustard gas, she replied: 'This is not relevant. You're making slanderous accusations. People should be able to choose.' Earlier in the hearing, when describing the months before her daughter's death, Kate said Paloma had chosen treatment which included nutrition, juices and spiritual support. Gabriel asked if she had made the paramedics' job more difficult that night. Robin said: "I believe we had to be quite firm at some points… had to ask for quiet while administering care to your sister." The coroner previously heard that Kate, who was involved in Paloma's "alternative treatment" called her friend before calling an ambulance the day her daughter collapsed. Gabriel asked another paramedic at the inquest, who also treated Paloma, if his mum's delay in calling an ambulance affected her chance of survival. "It's difficult to say," said Karen Clarke, a critical care paramedic. 7 Kate is a notorious conspiracy theorist Credit: Rex "You always recommend someone calling 999 straight away." Gabriel asked Karen if she would have called a friend first, she replied she would have called an ambulance first. Kate has previously accused doctors and paramedics of killing Paloma. 7 Gabriel and Paloma Credit: Supplied
Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Mother-of-seven secures place on midwifery course after returning to education
Emily Porter, 38, of Mildenhall, Suffolk, said she never thought she was 'clever enough to be a midwife'. But she said she always told her children that 'as long as you set your mind to something, you can be anything you want to be', and decided to follow her own advice. She has now secured a place to study a three-year midwifery degree at the University of Suffolk, having been to college and completed qualifications. Emily Porter returned to education (Eastern Education Group/PA) Ms Porter, whose children are aged between two and 16, completed four functional skills qualifications and a health-related access course. She did this at the West Suffolk College learning centre in Thetford, Norfolk and at Eastern and Education Group's University and Professional Development Centre in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. 'I never thought I was clever enough to be a midwife,' said Ms Porter. 'But I always say to my kids that as long as you set your mind to something, you can be anything you want to be. 'Pilots and doctors are human just like you. 'But then I wasn't following the advice I was giving to them. 'So I decided to go back to college and give it everything I've got. 'I was looking after my seven children, working in a pub a couple of nights a week and studying between 4am and 7am, before the kids got up, and at weekends. Emily Porter with staff from the West Suffolk College centre in Thetford, Suzanne Connolly (left) and Ian Evans (right) (Eastern Education Group/ PA) 'It was a struggle but I kept at it. I never quit.' She said her message to others is 'you can always find a way – you just need to look for it'. 'I've always been so insecure in my ability in education,' said Ms Porter. 'But when you want something so bad you go above and beyond. 'I'm lucky to have such a good support network. I have so many cheerleaders in my corner. 'I'm blown away (by the prospect of going to university). 'I might have a bit of imposter syndrome at the start, but once I'm in there, the only way is up and the only thing to do is complete the degree. 'I sometimes sit there and think about graduating. It makes me emotional.' She said she left school with grades 'that weren't very good' but decided, just after the Covid-19 pandemic, that she wanted 'to do something that means something and makes a difference'. She had an interest in becoming a midwife and researched how she could achieve this. She said the college support was 'amazing', adding: 'They have gone out of their way to help me and you are set up not to fail. 'Now I think that I can take the world on.' Ian Evans, head of personal and professional learning at the West Suffolk College centre in Thetford, said: 'Emily has been a superb student who is a total inspiration. 'We are thrilled to have been able to support her as she follows her dreams of becoming a midwife.'
