I woke up all bruised … and was told I’d got leukaemia
THESE horrific bruises look like the result of a serious accident.
So Thea Wilson was terrified when she woke up one morning covered in the purple marks – with no explanation.
The 37-year-old had gone on a night out the previous evening but stayed sober and knew she had not been injured. When the bruising had still not faded after a few days, she went to her GP who sent her for hospital tests.
Miss Wilson then learned she had a very rare, aggressive form of blood cancer called acute promyelocytic leukaemia.
Doctors said it was a ‘medical emergency’ as her blood was not clotting properly, meaning a small knock could leave her with internal bleeding, which can be fatal. She was rushed to an isolation room in hospital to undergo intensive chemotherapy.
Now, after six months of treatment, she has been told she is in remission. Miss Wilson will need to have regular tests as the disease could come back, but she insisted: ‘That won’t stop me living my life.’ She now plans to raise money for the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, where she was treated.
Miss Wilson, from Burwarton in Shropshire, who works in medical sales, said she had felt ‘under the weather’ and had been getting small bruises for weeks before the day she woke up with the severe bruising in October last year.
But she did not think it was anything to worry about and even took part in a 10km run just before she got her test results. She said that when she found out she had leukaemia her ‘world fell apart’, but she added: ‘I was so very lucky. If I had fallen running, I could have died.’
Macmillan nurse Bridget Atkins, who cared for Miss Wilson, said her ‘incredibly positive’ attitude during her treatment was ‘inspiring’, adding: ‘She is a classic example of someone with great spirit, who rises up in the face of adversity.’