Charlotte's story

“In October 2006 Charlotte began to feel ill,” explains her father. “We took her to hospital and we were told she had a viral infection. She remained poorly until early 2007 when she developed a bad cough and went for a blood test. From then on everything changed.

“We were expecting the results to come back in a couple of days, but we received a visit from our GP at our home that night. He told us Charlotte had Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). That night Charlotte went into our local hospital and the next day she was transferred to another hospital 100 miles away.”

“I was totally confused about what was going on,” says Charlotte. “I knew a bit about leukaemia, I just kept thinking I’m going to lose my hair. I have no memory of the next few days. I had lumbar and bone marrow punctures, and they put in my line. I was in a lot of pain. It was like I was there but I wasn’t really.”

“When we got to the ward,” continues her Dad, “we were quite shocked. There were 15 beds with less than three foot between each one. Charlotte was surrounded by children of all ages and the constant noise was affecting all of us. It was impossible to get any rest because there would always be someone awake or being sick.

“There is a new teenage cancer unit being built, it was just a shame it wasn’t ready for Charlotte, and other teenagers like her, when she was ill. For AML you have four courses of chemotherapy, which last for one month with a break in between. Each time Charlotte came in for treatment she’d have to spend time on the ward before she was given her own room.

“Once she was eight days on the ward and she became more and more withdrawn. She’s a 15-year-old girl and she needs her privacy, we were quite worried about her. Finally she was given her own cubicle and she was back to her old self straight away. We brought in a laptop, but the hospital wireless network was locked and we had to buy a dongle. Having access to the internet kept us all sane and Charlotte could chat to her friends. There wasn’t a lot to occupy a teenage girl in the hospital.

“We spent most of our time with Charlotte when she was ill. We live 100 miles away so it wouldn’t have been possible to commute, both time-wise and financially. The nurses were extremely helpful and supportive, but they were also very busy. We wanted to be on hand to help Charlotte and to rally her spirits.

“We received a couple of care grants from CLIC Sargent which helped out with our extra costs. The health cover on our mortgage and my statutory sick pay (I was signed off work with stress by my doctor) took time to come through so any extra money was a great help.
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“I’ve got an NHS wig now,” explains Charlotte, “I wear it when I go outside but don’t bother at home. When I was in hospital, my CLIC Sargent Youth Worker came to see me most days and we chatted about what I was going through. She was really friendly and one of the few young people I got to see at the hospital. She brought me magazines to read which was great. I just kept thinking of the future and that soon all the treatments would be out of the way.

If you’re going through the same thing as me  — just remember there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”