A schoolgirl diagnosed her own cancer after researching her symptoms online on her way to the hospital.
Fourteen-year-old Amelia Johnson told her mother that she thought she had cancer as the pair sat in the back of the ambulance.
The then 14 year old from Stockton on Tees had been Googling her symptoms after an ambulance crew suddenly showed up at her house, with orders to take her directly to the hospital.
Amelia Johnson had been feeling ill and earlier that day her parents had taken her to the GP as they were worried about bruising on her skin. The doctor said that she might be suffering from iron deficiency so blood tests were collected.
Less than 12 hours later, the family were dramatically awoken in the middle of the night at their Stockton, County Durham home by the ambulance crew, and from the back of the vehicle, the tech-savvy teen started researching on her smartphone.
Amelia’s dad Mike Johnson said that they couldn’t believe what was happening and that they’d all been fast asleep when they were woken up by the ambulance crew at their door, but the ambulance staff weren’t able to tell them why Amelia had to go in which was frightening.
When the family reached the North Tees Hospital, they were told that Amelia’s blood tests showed that she had Acute Myeloid Leukemia and that she needed to begin treatment immediately.
And by 9 am they been moved to the Newcastle RVI and Amelia began chemotherapy where she was in the hospital for the next ten days.
Amelia, a keen dancer, said the most difficult part was losing her hair. She said that she’s learnt to live without hair now and doesn’t get as upset and that she has numerous wigs that are extremely convincing and that her own hair is now growing back gradually.
The vivacious teen started back at school last week and is keen to get back to normal life and the now 15-year-old who is a pupil at Ian Ramsey Church of England in Stockton continued her treatment for six months and through lockdown until her family said she was recently given the all-clear.
Amelia will continue having monthly blood tests and is awaiting surgery to remove her Hickman line, which was used to administer treatment.
But what a girl Amelia is and she has had to face one of the most difficult battles and she is a remarkable young lady and what a terrible thing to have to go through at any age.
Although it’s not recommended that anyone Google their symptoms because it can at times lead to a lot of false information.
