THE parents of a ‘happy, content’ little girl grew worried increasingly when their little one refused to walk and started crawling instead.
Though their daughter had seemed perfectly healthy, this was the first sign of a devastating disease that left little Molly Hopkins fighting for her life.
Jam Press/Nadia Hopkins‘Happy and content’ Molly Hopkins, pictured with her dad Lewis, started limping in September 2022[/caption]
Jam Press/Nadia HopkinsHer worried parents took Molly to A&E – while doctors initially said the tot had a viral infection, tests later showed she had cancer[/caption]
Jam Press/Nadia HopkinsMolly underwent gruelling rounds of treatment to fight the rare blood cancer, called acute lymphoblastic leukaemia[/caption]
Nadia Hopkins, 33, and fiancé Lewis Burnett, 32, first became concerned when their 20-month-old daughter developed a limp in September 2022.
They were devastated when tests revealed she had leukaemia.
Though they’d planned to wed the following year, the couple immediately cancelled their nuptials to focus on Molly’s treatment.
“Before diagnosis, Molly was a happy, content little girl with no common signs of leukaemia,” Nadia, a nurse, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“She had no health issues, no concerns – nothing.”
When Molly started limping, her parents took her to A&E.
Doctors initially believed the tot’s hobble was caused by a viral infection affecting her hips.
But when she continued to deteriorate – refusing to walk and starting to crawl instead – an X-ray found a fracture in her femur bone.
Molly’s leg failed to heal over the following weeks, with her parents heartbroken to see her suffering, and they took her for further tests.
Nadia said: “I pleaded with them [the doctors] that something was not right.
“Because it was so far down the line from this break in her leg and she wasn’t making progress with walking, they took a blood sample from her.
“On 11 November 2022, our whole world crashed.
“Molly’s blood results showed that she had leukaemia.
“She was only 22 months old.”
A bone marrow biopsy that week confirmed she had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia – a rare type of blood cancer that starts from white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow.
Cancer Research UK said the devastating disease usually develops quickly over days or weeks and causes symptoms like bruising and bleeding and pain in the bones or joints.
Sufferers might also be susceptible to coughs and colds and not be able to shake them off.
Nadia said: “I felt numb. Everything went blurry – I was in total shock.
“We were all devastated and none of us wanted to believe it.
“It broke me and Lewis – we never thought this could happen.
“It was like our world seemed to stop spinning while the world around us carried on.”
Molly started chemotherapy treatment and a course of steroids, spending her second birthday and Christmas 2022 in hospital.
She has also undergone intense physiotherapy to try and rebuild her relationship with walking.
Despite the gruelling treatment, the tot has incredibly managed to stay positive.
Her mum said: “Each day Molly still wakes up with a smile.
“She has gone through so much and been knocked down so hard sometimes, but she gets back up and fights right back.
“It’s been extremely distressing [watching her go through this].
“Every day we wake up wishing we could take this awful cancer away from her.
“Words cannot even describe how hard it has been for me, Lewis and both our families – but most of all how hard it’s been for Molly.
“But she is still fighting, showing strength, showing resilience, showing kindness and love, still smiling her infectious, beautiful smile.
“Some days it’s Molly that gets us through the day.”
The toddler is currently making great progress with her treatment.
Nadia said: “The progress that Molly has made in a year is amazing she has stunned us all.
“She is an incredibly strong little girl who continues to thrive.
“She has fought for a year and will continue to fight for the next year and a half to kick this cancer.”
After initially postponing their wedding – which had been planned for March 2023 – Nadia and Lewis have been spurred on by Molly’s progress to rebook their nuptials.
Molly’s positive prognosis means she is now set to walk down the aisle with her proud mum – with the toddler acting as flower girl.
Now, their little girl is counting down the days until she can celebrate their big day, planned for October 2024.
Nadia added: “Now Molly is in the maintenance part of her treatment and with 18 months left of treatment to go, we decided to rebook our wedding.
“She will be nearly two years into her treatment with six months left to go of treatment.
“When we told her she was so excited to be our little special flower girl.
“She said ‘Mama I’ll wear a pretty white dress like you and get my hair done’.
“My heart just melted. Seeing how far our beautiful special princess has come makes us even more proud of her.”
Despite the gruelling treatment, Molly still wakes up with a smile each day, her mum Nadia saidJam Press/Nadia Hopkins
With Molly making incredible progress, her parents have been able to reschedule their postponed weddingJam Press/Nadia Hopkins
The toddler will be Nadia and Lewis’s flower girl in for the October 2024 nuptialsJam Press/Nadia Hopkins
Symptoms of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells.
It progresses quickly and aggressively and requires immediate treatment.
According to the NHS around 790 people diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK.
Although it is rare, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common type of leukaemia that affects children.
Cancer Research UK said symptoms include:
feeling weak or tired
flu-like symptoms
a high temperature
picking up or not being able to shake off infections such as coughs and colds
bruising and bleeding easily
weight loss
swelling of your lymph nodes
pain in your bones or joints
breathlessness
feeling full in your tummy
looking pale or washed out
Symptoms can be similar to other illnesses so it doesn’t;t mean your little one has cancer if they have them.