A girl who fell ill with leukaemia when she was just four-years-old has officially been declared cancer free – 867 days after she was first diagnosed.
Sophie Gamble finally got to ring the ‘cancer-free bell’ at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital on December 18.
The bell signified the end of her chemotherapy treatment, meaning she could spend Christmas at home with her family.
The youngster, from Bolton, has endured 604 doses of chemotherapy since her diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in August 2019.
She was just four-years-old at the time.
READ MORE: BBC's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special flooded with criticism over Gary Barlow performance
Her parents, Rob and Lisa, first noticed symptoms including paleness, rashes on her skin and bleeding gums.
She was taken to Bolton Children’s Hospital before being transferred to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
There, her devastated mum and dad received the ‘worst possible news’ they could ‘ever imagine being told’.
“It was truly horrible,” Rob Gamble told the Manchester Evening News.
“They sat us down and told us everything calmly.
“The worst was running through my mind. It was the worst possible news that you could ever imagine being told.”
Throughout the time she was in hospital, Sophie, who is currently in year two at St John’s Primary School in Bromley Cross, underwent 20 blood transfusions, 22 general anaesthetics, nine X-rays and CT scans, had six Nasogastric tubes fitted and received 1,146 beads of courage.
She also had to have her treatment extended.
But after two gruelling years, doctors can no longer find any sign of the disease in her blood.
Commercial vehicle fitter Rob continued: “She will have to go for check-ups every six weeks and then they will progressively get longer inbetween.
“It’s been emotional.
“You build it up and you’re almost counting down the days to finishing treatment, ringing the bell and being able to celebrate.
“Going back to the start, there were times I thought, ‘Are we going to see her ring the bell?’
“I was crying; all the nurses were smiling.
“It’s hard to describe with words. It’s relief, excitement and happiness.
“Christmas was really nice. It was nice for all four of us to spend the morning together.
“We want to thank Professor Wynn and the doctors and nurses on ward 84 for everything that they have done for our little girl.”
Rob took to social media to post about Sophie's journey.
So far, it has received more than 1,000 likes.
