She stood up in front of the class and said: ‘I’ve got leukaemia and my hair is going to fall out

WHEN Madison Shurmer started feeling pain in her neck last year, nobody could ever have imagined she was about to face the battle of a lifetime.

The seven-year-old, who attends Ferndale Community Primary School, had just been to a friend’s party when her mum, Michelle, noticed she had developed lumps on her neck.

Accident and emergency doctors and an on-call doctor said her glands were up as she was probably getting over a virus.

But a specialist appointment at Great Western Hospital a few days later delivered the devastating news that she was suffering from leukaemia.

Madison started chemotherapy at John Radcliffe Hospital just days after the diagnosis, where over the months she even comforted some of the other children when they were scared.

She lost her hair not long after she started treatment, but despite that she still doesn’t consider herself courageous in any way.

“People always tell me I’m brave, but I don’t feel like I’m being brave. I’m just being normal,” said Madison, who is the eldest of three sisters.

But Maddie’s mum, Michelle, said her bravery has made the whole family incredibly proud.

“Maddie is amazing. She is such a strong little girl and she has been a real trooper. She’s always saying ‘I just feel normal’,” said Michelle.

“Although she has got leukaemia she has just dealt with it. She’s always happy and upbeat and her attendance at school this year was still 70 per cent.”

Maddie first started showing symptoms in October 2013 with a sore neck and lumps, although she still seemed fit and well.

Concerned that the lumps could mean cancer, Michelle drove her to A&E.

They were reassured it was just Maddie’s glands recovering from a virus, but were referred to the out of hours GP as a precaution. Again, Michelle asked if it was cancer, but was told she was fine. They were advised to see their family GP for blood tests just in case.

At that appointment they were told the same again, and the family decided not to put Maddie through the stress of blood tests as it seemed unnecessary.

However, just a few days later, Maddie’s grandmother, who works in the children’s ward at Great Western Hospital, secured a hospital appointment for Maddie.

“When we saw the consultant he obviously knew something was really wrong. He saw her glands and took the bloods himself,” said Michelle.

“We went home afterwards and carved pumpkins because it was Halloween. They rang up and told us to come back in, and when we got there there were lots of doctors in the room.

“We were waiting for my husband, Andy, to get there and they were trying to keep the conversation going.

“In the end, I couldn’t wait any longer and said ‘just spit it out and tell us what’s going on’. I wasn’t expecting them to tell me she had leukaemia.

“I was thinking maybe a virus and we just needed antibiotics. She didn’t even seem sick.

“We all started panicking. Everyone was really upset, it was just crazy. I don’t think it sank in and I still don’t think it has to this day.

“You automatically think the worst because you don’t know enough about leukaemia. I was thinking ‘what does it mean?’ and ‘what happens next?’ but they assured me the treatment she was going to get was very good.”

Maddie stayed at GWH for a few days before being taken to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford by ambulance.

She started chemotherapy on November 4, something which Michelle said she was grateful for as many families struggle to get a diagnosis so quickly.

“It was such a quick turnaround and it was totally unexpected. We went from lumps in her neck to leukaemia,” said Michelle.

Maddie told her friends about her diagnosis shortly after she found out.

“She stood up in front of the class and said: ‘I have got leukaemia and my hair is going to fall out’,” said Michelle.

“Her school have been absolutely amazing. She has been so lucky to have such a good network of support with her friends and family.”

In December, after Maddie started losing her hair due to chemotherapy, Michelle and her mum Annette (Maddie’s grandma) had their heads shaved in support. Maddie’s dad, Andy, shaved their heads for them.

Michelle said: “I did it to show Maddie you don’t have to have hair to be pretty.”

Treatment for leukaemia consists of five stages. Maddie has now reached the maintenance stage – the final stage which will see her taking tablets until February 2016. She also has weekly blood checks.

“You wouldn’t think she has leukaemia. I just can’t put into words how strong she has been. Even the oncology nurses use Maddie as an example,” said Michelle.

“All the way through her treatment she has been so thoughtful of the other kids, even when she was first diagnosed.

A lot of the children receiving treatment were screaming and she was saying ‘do you want to see me take my medicine first?’ “Our lives have been thrown apart but Madison is absolutely amazing. I’m so proud to call her my daughter.”

Maddie was a guest of honour, along with 20 other families representing all children fighting cancer in the UK currently, at a special party held to salute the courage of all children coping with the disease.

The celebration was organised to help raise awareness of the charity’s groundbreaking work in childhood cancer research. Madison met several celebrities, including Strictly Come Dancing’s Robin Windsor and Kristina Rihanoff.

Maddie thanked her family, including her mum and dad and sisters Florence, five, and Willow, one, for their support throughout her treatment.

Maddie and her family also thanked Great Western Hospital, John Radcliffe Hospital and Ferndale School.

Michelle added: “We have also had amazing support from many local charities. I feel our story may have been a little different without their generosity.

“We want to thank CALM, The Rainbow Trust, Fat Boys, Timmy Trust, Be Child Cancer Aware, Beads of Courage programme, Clic Sargent and Cancer Research UK.

“They are all wonderful charities that offer amazing support to families like ours, and I would encourage people interested in raising funds locally to contact them.”