Terrifying 2AM Knock: GP Urgently Warns Mom to Rush Daughter to Hospital
Joanna Heap had known something was deeply wrong with her daughter Tallulah for weeks. The 11-year-old had stopped eating and was falling asleep in school, symptoms initially attributed to the stress of beginning Year 7. However, as weeks passed, Tallulah developed a rash and began sweating in bed. Her mother, a beauty therapist, initially thought it was caused by the heated blanket she used.
“There was always an explanation for everything,” Joanna remarked, hoping her daughter’s discomfort would soon pass, according to Liverpool Echo. Despite these ongoing symptoms, Tallulah’s condition worsened, leading Joanna to take her to see a GP. After a blood test was conducted, abnormal results prompted further testing.
At this time, Tallulah was given antibiotics for a prickly rash, and an accidental leg injury led to an unusually large bruise. She continued to fall asleep in class, complaining of aching bones and feeling unwell. As the family awaited the results of the second test, they were told that the symptoms might simply be due to Tallulah “becoming a young lady”, reported by the Manchester Evening News.
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Joanna, 36, reflecting on this, said, “I had an older daughter and I had never seen this before. I thought it might have been low iron.” Looking back, she admits, “If I could go back in time, I would have taken her to A&E, but you just trust your GP.”
Everything changed one night when a doctor unexpectedly knocked on Joanna’s door at 2 am. He had come to deliver life-changing news: Tallulah had leukaemia. “The GP knocked on the door and said he had come for Tallulah,” Joanna recalled. “When he opened the door, I just knew he was going to say cancer. My mother’s intuition knew.”
Shocked but determined to stay strong for her daughter, Joanna woke Tallulah and told her they needed to go to the hospital. When Tallulah asked what was wrong, Joanna, unsure of how to explain, said it was “blood poisoning.” At the hospital, doctors confirmed the devastating diagnosis and revealed that Tallulah’s condition was so severe she likely would not have survived if not treated soon.
Joanna’s sense of relief in being heard was palpable. “When we got to the hospital, I asked if it could be anything else. They said no, it was definitely cancer – she wouldn’t have lasted much longer,” she said. “Her white blood cells were so high that she ended up in intensive care.”
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Tallulah, now 13, began chemotherapy in April 2023 and spent six weeks in the hospital. Unfortunately, the treatment did not work, and doctors recommended a bone marrow transplant. A match was found with a 29-year-old UK donor, and the transplant took place in October 2023.
However, Tallulah faced yet another challenge when she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder that left her paralyzed from the waist down. After months of hard work, she relearned how to walk. In a heartwarming turn of events, Tallulah rang the cancer-free bell in April 2024.
Grateful to be together at home, Joanna said, “We’ve met other families who haven’t been as fortunate.” In a bid to support other children in similar situations, Tallulah held a bake sale at school and raised funds to buy toys for children on the ward. Her resilience has given her a new outlook on life, as her mother added, “Even things like making tea at home or the days Tallulah has been at school mean so much more now.”
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