Sophia McDermott rang the bell on Monday after being given the all-clear following her leukaemia diagnosis
Sophia McDermott and her family ring the bell after months of cancer treatment
This is the heartwarming moment a young girl rings the bell after being given the all-clear following months of gruelling cancer treatment.
18-month-old Sophia McDermott was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia earlier this year in June after she had been unwell for a few weeks with cold and flu-like symptoms. Hours after being told the young girl might have tonsillitis, her worried parents Nicola and James took her to A&E as her instincts told her something wasn’t right. They then received the devastating news that Sophia had cancer.
Sophia was being prepped for her cancer treatment within days which would be the start of a very difficult seven months.
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Throughout the majority of her chemotherapy the young child had to stay in hospital and was only able to return home for a few days at a time.
Although there were times when the treatment was a struggle, her family say Sophia was very strong throughout it all and a couple of days before Christmas she was given the news that she was now all-clear and was able to ring the bell as she left the hospital for the final time.
Speaking to Belfast Live, her mum Nicola said: “Earlier this year Sophia kept becoming unwell with what we thought was the cold or flu and was very pale and just not quite herself. This kept getting worse and she was eventually given antibiotics as she might have tonsillitis and we were told to return to the doctor if she didn’t get better.
“To be fair to the doctor at that time, he wasn’t able to get a good look at her as she didn’t sit still due to feeling so poorly.
“Later that night her condition kept getting worse and I just felt that something wasn’t right with her and told my husband James that I was going to take her to A&E. Then at 3.30pm on June 17 we got the news that she had leukemia.
“We didn’t know what to do, it was not something we ever imagined would happen, and then a couple of days later she was undergoing an operation and being prepped for months of chemotherapy.
“The next few months were tough on Sophia as she had to spend most of it in hospital and then after four rounds of chemotherapy she was due to ring the bell and finally go home last week and she got the chickenpox. This meant she had to stay in hospital for another four days.
“On Monday Sophia finally got the all-clear and was able to ring the bell, with our whole family coming together to celebrate the beautiful moment.
“James & I would like to thank all the staff at the children’s haematology unit in the Royal Hospital Belfast for all the support and kindest through sophia journey we couldn’t of did it without you all. It has been a beautiful way for us to start Christmas this year.”
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