Arabella's Leukaemia (ALL) Research Fund is a Special Named Fund at CCLG raising money for research into acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).
Arabella was three years old when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Her mum Jess shares her story…
Arabella had a severe case of chicken pox in May 2023 and was hospitalised for one week. She was very poorly and it was such a stressful and worrying time and we didn’t think things could get any worse. She lost a lot of weight and unfortunately has been left with severe scarring all over her body. Little did we know she would be diagnosed with leukaemia 2 months later.
The week before Arabella’s diagnosis, we had noticed dark bruising on her legs, which we had put down to her being more playful in nursery. She had also knocked her nose a few days prior to being diagnosed, and her nose kept trickling with blood, which we thought was because she kept knocking it! Later, we found out low platelets cause bruising and bleeding, and Arabella’s platelets were very low due to the leukaemia.
We are grateful we had a quick diagnosis from Ormskirk Hospital. We had taken Arabella in on a Saturday with suspected tonsillitis after she was very lethargic with a swollen throat and spots on her tonsils. She was checked over and prescribed antibiotics. I had forgotten to mention the bruising on her legs and bleeding nose. That night, she perked up, and we were so glad we had taken her.
The next night, she woke up around 11 pm, doubled over with severe stomach pain, and she was vomiting. We thought she was having a reaction to the antibiotics, so we rushed her straight back. Luckily, the same doctor who had seen us the day before was on shift, and she recognised Arabella was much worse than the previous day. Arabella could not stop being sick, was lethargic, and had a grey colour to her skin. She was given oral anti-sickness, which she threw straight back up, and then was quickly cannulated, given IV anti-sickness, and blood were taken - sepsis was suspected.
Arabella was admitted to the ward for close monitoring while we waited for the blood results. Monday morning we were given the news that it was likely Arabella had leukaemia and that we would be transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Arabella’s condition continued to deteriorate and she was on oxygen as well as IV fluids. Her diagnosis was confirmed Tuesday evening after she went to the theatre for the bone marrow to be extracted, a procedure which was difficult due to her bone marrow being ‘sticky’, a clear sign of leukaemia being present.
Arabella’s treatment is at least 25 months. She has a portacath (central line) fitted in her chest, which is accessed using a griper needle for IV chemotherapy, fluids, blood transfusions, platelets transfusions, IV antibiotics, etc. There are different stages of treatment which require different drugs. It’s very intense. She has had many trips to the theatre for bone marrow extractions, lumbar punctures and chemotherapy into her spine. We are at the hospital weekly, often a few times a week. She is part of the ALL-together trial at Alder Hey, which is a standard treatment protocol used to treat leukaemia.
She is currently in the consolidation 2 phase, which is at least 8 weeks long, depending on weekly blood levels. This part of the treatment involves 2 planned hospital stays for big doses of chemotherapy and theatre visits for lumber punctures and chemotherapy into her spine. She has had a few unplanned stays recently with temperatures requiring IV antibiotics but takes everything in her stride with a smile!
Arabella is a character! She is a very happy little girl who is always smiling. She knows her own mind and can be very vocal when she wants to be! She loves singing and dancing as well as Disney. She loves seeing her friends and socialising, something she really misses now!
We want to raise awareness and money to fund further research into acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and the drugs used in treatment. We believe CCLG is doing amazing in raising awareness and funding research, and we wanted to help!
We chose Arabella's Leukaemia (ALL) Research Fund as we wanted Arabella’s name on the fund but also to be clear that it is for research into acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Make a donation to Arabella's Leukaemia (ALL) Research Fund
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Open an online fundraising page for Arabella's Leukaemia (ALL) Research Fund
Set up a regular Direct Debit donation to Arabella's Leukaemia (ALL) Research Fund
Research projects funded
Developing ways to identify chemotherapy resistant B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells
Fundraising pages
Text CCLGARABELLA to 70085 to donate £5.
CCLG will receive 100% of your donation. You may also be charged for one text message at your network’s standard or charity rate.
You can make a donation or pay in funds raised by cheque, payable to CCLG, to CCLG, Century House, 24 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GB. Please ensure you make it clear that the donation is for Arabella's Leukaemia (ALL) Research Fund so that your donation is allocated to the correct fund.