Childhood Cancer Awareness Month 2021: ‘My daughter’s leg pain was actually leukaemia’

UAE-based expat A, who requested anonymity, found her world no longer made sense. She had been waiting for a test result for her young daughter but the numbers baffled her: The reports said she had cancer. Leukaemia, or cancer that originates in the bone marrow to be precise, which, as per the ‘Cancer Incidence In United Arab Emirates Special Report On Pediatric Malignancies In UAE, 2015’ by the Ministry of Health and Prevention, is the most common cancer in kids in the country.

Here she details the family’s journey from blindsiding diagnosis to slow recovery. 

It was a fine Thursday morning when she first complained about leg pain. We made her rest for some time and applied some hot oil to relieve the pain as we thought it was because she had been jumping on the couch. She continued with her online classes, and the pain was there on and off for the next two days. We suspected a sprain and took her to a pediatrician. He gave her painkillers and told us it was growing pain, which is normal. The ache didn’t subside in the next one week and we took her again to another orthopedic doctor. He took an X-Ray and the results showed nothing unusual – there was no damage to the bones. But he put a splint on her leg anyway and suggested two weeks’ rest. My husband and I took time off from work on alternative days to take care of her.

Another two weeks passed and her cast was removed. By this time she was in severe pain and couldn’t walk. We took her to another doctor in Sharjah and he suggested Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the result was normal. The doctor removed the splint and put another cast on her leg and suggested three weeks of rest this time around. He also suggested blood work and after her blood was drawn, we travelled back to Ras Al Khaimah before the results were out. My husband dropped me at office and they went back home. It was around 12.30pm I got a call from my husband saying her blood work showed something abnormal. I saw the result on my WhatsApp and couldn’t believe my eyes.

All her counts were highlighted in red and we told each other over the phone that this is surely a mistake by the lab. I just shared the results with my colleagues and they immediately booked a paediatrician in Sharjah. We took her again to Sharjah with the cast on and after seeing the result, the paediatrician asked us to take her to Emergency. At this point, we rushed back to Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) and admitted her in a RAK hospital’s Emergency wing. They did the blood work again and the result was the same. When I Googled, scary results popped up - I refused to believe them. Then, a doctor asked us to take her to a Dubai hospital the same day and so we travelled to Dubai. One of my husband’s friends who was a nurse at RAK Hospital accompanied us. It was only thanks to him that we were able to make it – we were emotional wrecks. My child, meanwhile, was crying and in pain throughout the constant shuttling between Emirates.

When we reached the Dubai hospital, we had to take COVID-19 tests and wait for the results; I waited with her while my husband went home to bring back some things. I saw my baby getting weaker by the hour and crying in pain every time her blood was drawn for tests. The doctor visited us to give the diagnosis as soon the PCR test results showed we were negative for coronavirus. I was all alone when I was told my child had Leukaemia. Everything came to an end, I literally wanted to end my life. She is our only child; we had her after five years of marriage. Before this, she was the healthiest child ever, no signs of any illnesses. I couldn’t believe my ears.

That was the scariest night of my life.

We decided to take her to our home country for a second opinion and further treatment. But airlines wouldn’t allow her to travel as her haemoglobin count was four at that time [average levels are 13.5 for a child aged 6-12, as per American Academy of Family Physicians].

By then, she had received litres of blood and platelets. However, the cancerous cells were so aggressive that the blood work showed a high white blood cell count each time. We overcame those times because we had the support and help of our friends and neighbours.

Day three

On our third day in the Dubai Hospital we received a call from my CEO and he introduced us to Dr Zainul Aabideen, a reputed paediatric oncologist in the UAE. Dr Aabideen called many times to explain that it was risky to travel with an immunocompromised child during a pandemic, insisting that we take her to Tawam Hospital, Al Ain. He explained to us the disease is treatable and has a better prognosis than we were believing. We have since learned that childhood cancer survival rate is 90 per cent and kids can fight it better than adults.

On day four we took her to RAK Saqar Hospital Emergency and on the sixth day we were transported to Tawam Hospital in Al Ain, in an ambulance. We saw our doctor there for the first time. They inserted the port-a-cath and her treatment started. The first one month we stayed at the hospital for induction and the next two months in Al Ain near the hospital. The care and love the nurses give to the kids and to their parents is overwhelming. Sister Elsy stood by me and gave me her shoulder to lean on whenever I needed it.

It took my baby three months to start walking because of the cast she had been put in. The leg pain was because of the overproduction of blast cells [white blood cells] that were [multiplying and] pushing inside the bone, which is one of the main symptoms of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.

Going back home

We travelled back to RAK in month four as we couldn’t afford the rent at both the places and of course, she seemed to be better by then. She resumed her online classes after three months. It was our dream to make her study at RAK Academy, the best school there, but we dropped that dream because my husband became the only breadwinner of my family by then.

Every week we would travel from RAK to Al Ain. October 4, 2021, marks the first anniversary of her date of diagnosis and we have one more year to go to finish the treatment.

Secondary infections

In this time, after the main protocol, she was admitted four times to Tawam emergency due to treatment-related complications.

We had gone through the worst days of our lives because of the many treatment-related complications. However, today, my child is in remission with no more blast cells in her body. She is on maintenance treatment now.

What we had gone through last one year cannot be explained in seven or eight paragraphs. This isn’t a detailed look at what we’ve gone through – it’s just an outline. What keeps us moving is a line my Dad often says, “Nothing is permanent and this too shall pass.” Yes, this too shall pass and my child will beat the deadly disease in no time. She is now much better and has only mild treatment-related complications.

We have seen many kids and their parents who are fighting different kinds of malignancies and all we have to tell them is to be patient and do whatever you can to protect you kids from infections during the treatment. It is not the disease, but the secondary infection that often proves fatal. Don’t lose hope at any point and believe in your doctors.

We are indebted till our last breath to the UAE, Tawam Hospital, the doctors, the nurses and everyone who stood by us for saving our child’s life. I wouldn’t like to reveal my child’s identity here unless she wants to tell the world when she grows up and that should solely be her decision. Sending hugs, love and prayers to all little ones fighting cancer and dear parents - please remind yourself that this too shall pass and better days lie ahead.

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