1 week Ago By [email protected] (Sam Volpe)
A Consett girl's "sprained" arm turned out to be a heartbreaking rare cancer. Little Bonnie Spence, 5, was with her mum in Lancashire over Christmas when she started to complain of a lump in her arm. She went to hospital, but at the time was told she just had a sprain.
Devastatingly, over the festive period, the lump continued to grow - and over January her family were becoming increasingly concerned. Bonnie was sent for a biopsy in Birmingham in early February. While waiting for the results of this though, Bonnie's pain became unbearable and she was rushed to hospital in the North East.
There, she was diagnosed with a rare soft tissue cancer called Rhabdoid Sarcoma - and told it had spread to her lungs and was therefore terminal. She had to have her arm amputated and is now undergoing chemotherapy. Bonnie is now living with dad Iain - a former member of the armed forces now working as a HGV driver for local firm Elddis - and stepmum Caroline, an NHS midwife.
Meanwhile mum Zoey is down in Lancashire, commuting to visit her while she is receiving treatment. Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter Caroline told ChronicleLive : "It was this Christmas that she first noticed the lump on her arm. She was down with her mum in Lancashire, and her mum took her to the urgent treatment centre there.
But they told her they thought it was a sprain. "And then we had Bonnie and her siblings with us over Christmas and noticed the lump was just getting bigger. And when she was back in Lancashire, her mum noticed it looked so much bigger too.
"Bonnie had a biopsy in Birmingham on February 11. Then there was a week-long wait for the results. But it was just getting bigger and bigger and the pain for her was unmanageable.
Everything came to a head. We had already said that if she needed treatment she would come to the North East to have it. So we brought her up here and took her straight to the RVI in Newcastle.
"And from A&E they took us straight up to oncology. She then had further tests and they found cancer which had spread from her arms into her lungs." The kind of cancer Bonnie has is very rare - and to have it originate in an arm is yet rarer.
Caroline added: "The tumour in her arm started to release toxins that were breaking down her kidneys. So to save her kidneys we knew that this [amputation] was going to be a possibility. She started chemotherapy - but it's palliative, it's there to give us as much time as possible with her.
"At the moment we are on her fifth cycle of chemotherapy. She's quite fatigued but otherwise she's okay - a relatively spritely five-year-old. She's just your typical five-year-old.
" Despite her illness and her treatment, Bonnie remains a "spritely" little lass. Caroline said: "Bonnie's a very cheerful little girl who always has a smile on her face. Yellow's her favourite colour and so she's loving spring - with the daffodils and the chicks.
We got her an adapted bike she's rides up and down the street for hours. She loves her arts and crafts" A fortnight ago, Bonnie was recipient of a very special Brave Heart award - from the charity Bravehearts of the North East. Caroline said: "She was over-the-moon - Elsa and Spiderman came across and they had a little ceremony on the ward.
" The family are now fundraising to give Bonnie the best time possible while she is still healthy enough to enjoy it - and recent fundraising at a care home near their Consett home has helped them to visit places such as Seaham beach and the Alnwick Garden. The staff and residents at Abigail Lodge Care Home decided to hold a fundraising coffee morning in Bonnie's honour They raised £335 and Bonnie herself paid a visit. Resident, Alan Elliot, said: “It was such a pleasure to meet Bonnie.
She was quiet and shy at first but then really opened up and enjoyed her event, what a very brave little girl she is.” Abigail Lodge’s Magic Moments Coordinator, Rebecca Crawford, said: "It was so lovely to meet Bonnie and her family, she’s such an amazing and brave little girl. It’s so good to know the money we raised can go towards some nice day trips for Bonnie and her family to spend happy times together.
" If you would like to donate to support Bonnie and learn more about her story, visit her GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/1751428d Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone. To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device.
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