On Monday 22nd July 2013 Leah entered an isolation room in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit in Bristol Children’s Hospital and remained there for five weeks. She received twelve doses of chemotherapy over the next two weeks to prepare her body for transplant and she suffered all sorts of nasty side effects.
When her hair started to fall out she asked me to shave it off. Her boyfriend Nic filmed me doing this on the 7th August 2013. Leah was completely unable to speak at this stage as she had severe mucositis – inflammation and ulceration of her mouth. Oral mucositis is a common and painful side effect of chemotherapy.
Leah was on intravenous morphine for the pain and this made it difficult for her to stay awake. The beeping in the background was from one of the many pumps that she was attached to.
It’s amazing to look back and see how calm and peaceful Leah looked, at such a trying time.
Surely it is true what the Bible says in Psalm 29:11 “God makes His people strong.
God gives His people peace.”
Being a typical teenager, she took a selfie of her new image and posted it on Instagram:
My Journey: 