Parents warned after cancer fright
Mum warns follow your instincts after her daughter’s leukaemia diagnosis
A Rutherglen mum whose eight-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia just two weeks ago is warning other mums to follow their instincts and not be “fobbed off” by medics if they think their child is seriously ill.
As her daughter Kaiann undergoes chemotherapy, Sharon McAllister says parents of sick kids must fight for their children’s lives.
A Rutherglen mum, whose eight-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia just two weeks ago, is warning other mums to always follow their instincts and not be “fobbed off” by medics if their intuition tells them that their child is seriously ill.
Speaking from the hospital bedside of daughter Kaiann, as she undergoes chemotherapy, Sharon McAllister told the Reformer had she not been insistent that diagnoses of viruses, a urine infection, osteoporosis and early puberty were not at the root of her girl’s symptoms, it could have led to tragic consequences.
And she is appealing to other mums not to be fobbed off, but to fight for their child’s life.
Sharon first noticed in December that St Mark’s Primary pupil Kaiann had become very pale.
Following an accident at school, she began complaining of a sore back.
When the pain gradually worsened, Sharon took her to the family GP, who put the symptoms down to a virus.
However, the pain continued and as Kaiann’s moods changed, the doctor then suggested she had muscular pain following the bump at school.
And when Kaiann made up excuses not to go to school, Sharon and husband Mark began to suspect she was “at it” in an attempt to get days off.
“I picked her up from school to see she was walking really funny, and I made a doctor’s appointment,” explained Sharon, 35.
“At home time one day she was doubled over, looked chalk white, was in total agony and crying – so I took her straight to the doctor.
“A urine sample was taken and it was discussed that it could be puberty starting, as Kaiann was growing faster than other girls her age.
“The urine infection was confirmed, so the pain was put down to that. But I just couldn’t shift the feeling that it was something else with the pain she was in and her weird walk was worse.”
When Kaiann started screaming with pain so severe she couldn’t walk, her parents took her to A&E where they took bloods – but all the results showed was a urine infection.
Sharon was still not happy and they returned to the hospital once again, where a bone specialist said an X-ray didn’t reveal anything concerning.
“We then got a call to say more doctors had looked at the X-ray and wanted to see us,” explained Sharon, of Blairbeth.
“They suspected osteoporosis, as her X-ray showed thinning bones and fractures. Her spine was crumbling. The doctor was great, but I knew something was up. I could tell he was concerned.”
As they waited for an appointment for an MRI scan, Kaiann’s pain worsened and during a home visit, the family’s GP prescribed stronger pain killers and tried to rush through her hospital MRI scan. When morphine, paracetamol and ibuprofen failed to alleviate her daughter’s pain, Sharon called the hospital to be told her MRI scan appointment was a month away.
Only when Sharon “kicked up a stink” after staff refused to put her through to the consultant was Kaiann admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and her morphine dose increased.
Following the MRI, doctors delivered the news on February 12 that they suspected she had leukaemia.
“They did a bone marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspiration and the next day, our world crumbled. Kaiann was diagnosed with leukaemia,” explained Sharon, who said her daughter’s blood tests were still clear, with the exception of evidence of the infection. “So, if I didn’t listen to my gut and push, this wouldn’t have been picked up. Symptoms are different for every child, but please listen to them when they say they are sore. “Kaiann’s symptoms were pale skin, a frequent high temperature, frequent infections and back pain that turned to severe back pain. She was more distant, snappy, scared, and had a distinctive smell only I could detect. “A week before diagnosis, I said to my husband, ‘I think she has cancer.’ Maybe it’s mother’s instinct, but mums are usually right, so don’t stop fighting to be seen. “This wasn’t viral, muscular or something else. My girl has leukaemia. They don’t look properly into things. Bloods don’t show everything.” In an emotional message to other parents, Sharon appealed: “Fight if you believe something isn’t right. Don’t be fobbed off. This is your child’s life at risk.” Kaiann will be in hospital for four weeks, in and out for six months and will be on chemo medication for two years. “It’s going to be a long, hard journey,” said Sharon, who has sons Kalin, 17, and one-yearold Karsson. “She makes me so proud how she is handling it. It’s hard and confusing, so much to take in. But we’ll get there and my girl will fight and get better. I’ll make sure of that.”
Maybe it’s mother’s instinct, but mums are usually right ... don’t stop fighting to be seen