Warwick mum’s urgent message to all parents after shock leukaemia diagnosis

A mother fought doctors and hospital staff for several weeks to have her daughter’s sore arm investigated. Eventually a blood test revealed the life shattering news of leukaemia.

THUMB: Brave Laylah's fight has caused one Warwick mum to crusade for all parents (Photos: supplied)

It’s the news no parent wants to hear, but tragically one diagnosis changed the foreseeable future for one Warwick family.

Full-time mum-of-eight Emma Fuller’s life was shattered in late June when she was told by doctors her adorable three-year-old daughter Laylah had leukaemia after she had complained of a sore arm.

Since the shock diagnosis the family now commutes between Warwick and Brisbane to visit little Laylah as she begins her two and a half year fight against the deadly disease.

Still smiling, Laylah's brave fight with leukaemia is nothing short of inspirational. (Photo: supplied)

‘Knew in my stomach’

Laylah’s mum said it was motherly intuition and that she “knew something was wrong in her stomach” despite claiming medical professionals turned the pair away from the hospital.

With Layla complaining of pain in her arm, suffering from a high fever and waking in the middle of the night, Ms Fuller took her toddler to the hospital only for staff to suggest taking paracetamol.

“A mum just knows when something is wrong, it got to the point where Laylah couldn’t even lift her arm up,” Ms Fuller said.

“I’d ask the hospital if they could check her over and was told it was a ‘viral’ thing and told to keep the panadol up and head home. It was heartbreaking, it got to the point where I'd be lying in bed watching her temperature being high and trying to cool her down, and I’d just been to the hospital the night before,” she said.

“I was just lying there wondering what it could be, so I googled the symptoms, and one of the possibilities came back as cancer, so in the back of my mind I was thinking maybe there's a chance, but in the other part I was thinking, ‘there’s no way’, maybe she had just fallen over and we couldn’t see the injury.”

Discovery

It wasn’t until weeks later in which the family would know the heart wrenching truth behind the pains plaguing Laylah.

While visiting family at Inglewood, Laylah’s condition quickly deteriorated, and the girl woke up in the middle of the night with high fevers, leading Ms Fuller to take her to Inglewood Hospital.

The next morning, Laylah was rushed by her family to the hospital at Inglewood, wanting to request an X-Ray, however, Inglewood Hospital did not have a X-Ray machine operating at that time.

3-year-old Laylah was diagnosed with leukaemia last month

After several more weeks of unexplained pain and high temperatures Ms Fuller returned to Warwick Hospital with Layla and explained the month-long battle to a doctor who ordered a blood test.

That’s when Ms Fuller was told cancer cells had been detected in Layla.

Ms Fuller said she knew there was something wrong with her little girl, and believes if she didn’t get that one doctor on that one day to do those tests, she would be much worse than she is.

The family were told Brisbane Children’s Hospital had already accepted them, and they would be leaving as soon as possible.

Aftermath

With barely any time to even pack their things, the family left for Brisbane the morning after her daughter’s diagnosis.

In a week, a GoFundMe set up by a family friend amassed more than $2000 to help cover costs for the family during the difficult time.

“You don’t even think about it, all we were thinking about is getting her to hospital, all I packed was a few pairs of pyjama pants and tops,” she said.

Brave Laylah's fight has caused one Warwick mum to crusade for all parents (Photos: supplied)

“After we heard the diagnosis from the doctor, we were on a chopper the next morning.”

Ms Fuller said she is grateful for the support, but said she wants to use her story to warn parents everywhere to fight for their children.

“We need our story shared, parents need to know they can fight doctors and hospitals for their child, if you feel something that is not right for your child, you know your child more than anybody.

“You have to keep pushing, and pushing. I knew there was something wrong with her, you cannot let them dismiss it. You might get labelled as difficult or overreacting, but it could save a life.”

Darling Downs Health responds

“Our thoughts are with the family during this extremely difficult time,” a spokesperson for Darling Downs Health said.

“Sadly, the symptoms of childhood leukaemia can be quite general in nature and may be difficult to diagnose during an initial consultation however we are committed to ensuring all patients receive thorough and proper care,” the spokesperson said.

“No one is turned away from our hospitals and we encourage patients to present to the emergency department if their condition has worsened, regardless of how many times they have previously attended.”

How you can help

You can donate to the family to help cover expenses as they prepare for their move, with much-needed funds used to relocate the family to be by Laylah’s side during her fight.

You can donate to the family via their GoFundMe.

Originally published as Warwick mum’s urgent message to all parents after shock leukaemia diagnosis