Mother, 39, whose leukaemia was dismissed as flu has a ‘miracle baby’ after doctors warned chemotherapy would leave her infertile
- Ann Hope developed extreme fatigue and aching muscles in March 2016
- Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia when she was ’48 hours from death’
- Mrs Hope was in remission in November 2016, conceived the following year
A mother whose leukaemia was dismissed as the flu has had a ‘miracle baby’ after beating the deadly disease.
Ann Hope, 39, of Billingham in Teesside, developed extreme fatigue, aching muscles and breathlessness in March 2016.
She claims several GPs, as well as out-of-hours and urgent clinics, told her it was just a virus.
When her symptoms failed to ease, Mrs Hope was eventually referred for a blood test, which revealed she had acute myeloid leukaemia.
Doctors reportedly warned her she was ’48 hours from death’. Mrs Hope, a mother-of-three, started chemotherapy the next day.
Against all odds, she pulled through and was in remission in November 2016. The harsh treatment left doctors wary she may struggle to have more children.
Mrs Hope was therefore thrilled when she became pregnant with her daughter Eden, now 15 months, shortly after she married her long-term fiancé Matty, 41.
Ann Hope gave birth to her ‘miracle’ daughter Eden (pictured together) 15 months ago after doctors warned the mother-of-three she would be unable to have more children after chemo
The stay-at-home mother lost her hair while being treated for myeloid leukaemia. When she was diagnosed, a consultant reportedly said she was just ’48 hours from death’
Against all odds, Mrs Hope pulled through. She celebrated by marrying her long-term fiancé Matty (pictured together on the big day) in a castle in August 2017
Speaking of when she first became unwell, Mrs Hope said: ‘I was having flu-like symptoms.
‘Losing my voice was one of the first. I lost it completely for a while. It was a couple of days and then it was croaky for a while.
‘I had bruising, repeated infections, feeling weak or breathless, I was absolutely knackered. I had a fever, joint and bone pain.
‘Everybody had a virus so I just felt like I had caught it from everyone else.’
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a type of blood cancer that starts in young white blood cells in the bone marrow.
AML affects around one in 200 men and one in 255 women in the UK at some point in their lives.
Approximately 19,500 new cases occur every year in the US.
It is most often diagnosed in older people.
Symptoms can include:
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Frequent infections
- Bruising or bleeding easily, including nosebleeds or heavy periods
- Weight loss
- Bone and joint pain
- Breathlessness
- Swollen abdomen
- Pale skin
AML’s exact cause is unclear, however, risks include:
- Smoking
- Being overweight
- Radiation exposure
- Previous chemotherapy
- Certain blood disorders, such as myelodysplastic syndrome
- Some immune conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis
AML is usually treated via chemotherapy. A bone marrow or stem cell transplant may be required.
Source: Cancer Research UK
The stay-at-home mother claims she went to numerous doctors complaining of her symptoms.
‘They were all just saying it’s the same thing – it’s a virus,’ she said.
Mrs Hope’s fatigue became so severe she was unable to even walk her son to school.
‘I would have to get a taxi there and a bus back because I couldn’t physically walk there,’ she said. ‘I was just exhausted. I was aching all over.
‘As soon as I had dropped him off I would just go home and sleep for the rest of the day because I was so tired.
‘I finally saw one GP and he said, “I think it’s a bit more than people are saying”.’
The medic referred Mrs Hope to a specialist who later diagnosed her.
‘The consultant said if they hadn’t brought me in then, I would have been dead within 48 hours,’ she said.
‘They started chemo the next day and I was in intensive care. My husband was told I wouldn’t make it.’
As if her condition was not severe enough already, things took a dramatic turn for the worse.
‘My organs were shutting down in intensive care,’ Mrs Hope said. ‘Pneumonia started and one after another my organs were shutting down.’
After an anxious night waiting by the phone, Mr Hope went to visit his then-fiancé the following day.
‘He came in the next morning and was quite surprised I was chatting away, looking a lot better than I had the night before,’ Mrs Hope said.
‘He said, “Get through this and we’ll get married”.’
Despite the odds being stacked against her, Mrs Hope never doubted she would pull through.
‘In intensive care Matty was being told if I wouldn’t survive, I knew I would,’ she said. ‘At no point did I ever think I was going to die.
‘Even when I was at my worst, I was sure I wasn’t going to let it beat me. I had too much to live for, I think.’
Mrs Hope claims overcoming leukaemia made her wedding day (left) ‘more special’ by helping her ‘prioritise’ what is important. She is pictured right while battling the disease in hospital
The couple were thrilled when they discovered Eden (pictured together) was on her way
While in hospital (left), it was touch and go whether Mrs Hope would survive. The mother-of-three is pictured right taking her newborn Eden home for the first time
After six rounds of chemo, Mrs Hope went into remission in November 2016 and held Matty, a civil servant, to his word.
‘We got married in a castle, and had all our friends and family that had supported us during the treatment there,’ Mrs Hope said.
‘We had been engaged years, but just hadn’t got round to getting married. We probably would have gotten there eventually, just not that quickly.
‘I think going through leukaemia just made it more special. It showed me what was a priority.’
A month before the couple were due to wed, tests reportedly showed Mrs Hope would be unable to conceive again.
Chemotherapy reduces the number of eggs a woman has stored in her ovaries, according to the charity Macmillan.
‘Miraculously’, she became pregnant just two months later in October 2017.
‘We had tests after I finished treatment and I got told I couldn’t have any more kids,’ Mrs Hope said.
‘We got married in the August and by the October I was pregnant. So we have a 15-month-old daughter running around the house. She’s a miracle baby.’
Mrs Hope is speaking out to raise awareness of leukaemia symptoms among both the public and doctors.
‘I think GPs need to know about it as well,’ she said. ‘I saw quite a few GPs before my one finally realised what might be going on.
‘The GP who spotted my symptoms is my best friend. I love him to bits. I tell him now every time I see him he saved my life.’
Mrs Hope’s mother (pictured together left) gave her away at her wedding. Two months later, she discovered she was pregnant and is pictured right showing off her growing bump
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