Routine eye test showed girl had leukaemia
A SCHOOLGIRL was diagnosed with leukaemia after a regular eye test revealed that something was wrong.
Six-year-old Mia Young has spent the last year of the pandemic on chemotherapy.
She was among half her school class in Treorchy, Rhondda, who failed a routine eye test and was advised to visit an optician.
Mia’s mother, Alison Young, 39, thought very little of it at the time and took Mia to Specsavers in Treorchy for the advised follow-up in January last year.
It was there that optometrist Geraint Jones noticed an unusual appearance in the blood vessels near the optic nerve at the back of one of her eyes.
“He said he had never seen anything like that before so he wasn’t sure what it was,” Alison explained.
Mia was referred to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital for further tests, and spent a week or so going back and forth before they discovered what was wrong.
“We took her there straight from school for more tests one day, stuff like photos on the back of her eye, and it was 20 past 10 and they said they were going to keep her in, so I went home to get some things.
“And then my phone was ringing on my way back, my husband said ‘the doctor wants to see us.’
“I knew then, if a doctor wants to speak to you that late at night something is wrong.”
Alison and husband Steven were taken into a room and given the news that Mia had leukaemia.
It was found that her white cell count was 460,000 per cubic millimetre, estimated at between 50 to 100 times higher than is normal in a child.
The diagnosis came as a particular shock to Mia’s family and medical staff alike, as chronic myeloid leukaemia is predominantly found in the over-60s.
Mia, who was four at the time of her diagnosis, was taken straight to Noah’s Ark Hospital in Cardiff where she immediately began chemotherapy treatment.
“We weren’t expecting anything like that to happen, we were only expecting an eye test.
“She had no other symptoms at all,” Alison said.
“Mia has spent the last year on chemotherapy, it’s heartbreaking. What’s more scary is that she really hasn’t shown any symptoms; to anyone who might see her she is a healthy little girl.”
During their time at the hospital, Alison said the family received incredible support from charity Latch, which provided essentials when they couldn’t get away from the hospital.
To say thank you, they are now running an Amazon Wishlist to give back to those who helped them.
For the past year Mia has been taking daily oral chemotherapy tablets, and despite the gruelling treatment and hospital visits, Alison said her daughter is doing amazingly well.
“She is still as normal as she was, we would never have known, she is still Mia,” said Alison. “We are really lucky she is not ill.
“She knows she is not very well and she knows we have to go to the hospital for her shots and she knows she has got to take tablets but she is fine.
“She still goes to school and we get lovely reviews from her teachers about her.”
The family recently discovered that the oral chemotherapy Mia is
currently taking daily is not working as well as had been hoped.
Doctors are exploring the possibility of her needing a bone marrow transplant, and Mia’s older sister, Ella, who will turn eight next week, is a match.
“She knows that she had the test for Mia and that she is a match and that she can help save her sister’s life.
“We hope it won’t have to come to that, though,” said Alison.
Alison hopes other parents will read Mia’s story and take their children for an eye test.
She added: “I implore everyone to get their eyes checked and encourage their loved ones to do the same. Opticians are still open throughout the pandemic and are working hard to keep people safe.”
Mr Jones, optometrist director at Specsavers Treorchy, added: “It’s been a year since I first saw Mia – a friendly, happy child whose life has been turned upside down as a result of a rare illness.
“Despite all this, she continues fighting and I am hopeful that we will see a positive outcome that will allow her to return to normality as the world reopens.
“While Mia’s illness is rare, her story highlights how an eye test is much more than checking your vision.
“It can highlight a number of issues or abnormalities that may otherwise go undetected for months, or years, allowing medical staff to treat them early – providing the best possible prognosis for the patient.”