Co Armagh mum diagnosed with leukaemia and told that she had just 16 hours to live now inspiring people to sign up and do the Race for Life at Home in…

By daniellenierenberg

A Co Armagh cancer survivor is inspiring people to Race for Life at Home and carry on the fight against the disease in these unprecedented times.

Clare Crossey (33), a care worker from Lurgan who was diagnosed with leukaemia in February 2018, had hoped to take part in Cancer Research UK's Race for Life in Belfast on Sunday, May 24.

Unfortunately the Belfast Race for Life is among events which organisers Cancer Research UK have postponed this spring and summer to protect the country's health during the coronavirus outbreak.

But as the nation's lockdown continues, undeterred women and men are already vowing to carry on and complete a Race for Life at Home challenge in their garden or their nearest green space.

Clare is unable to take up the challenge right now, as she is recovering from a bone marrow transplant, but is determined to lend her support and has recruited her sister Alison and daughters Meabh (8) and Lily (11) - who are limbering up with Joe Wicks on YouTube every morning.

The mum-of-two's life changed very suddenly in February 2018 when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a cancer that starts inside bone marrow, the soft tissue inside bones that helps form blood cells.

She has faced a tough battle for survival over the past two years and this time last year was in isolation receiving treatment and a stem cell transplant.

As she now faces isolation again to protect herself from coronavirus, Clare is remaining upbeat.

She says: "I now have a brand new immune system, almost like I have been reborn, so I need to have all the injections a new baby has.

"This places me at especially high risk from the coronavirus. It is frightening, but with the help of family, I am being very careful.

"We're all going to be spending a lot of time indoors this spring, so it feels good to take back some control and plan something positive to help me and to help people who are going through cancer right now.

"That's why I am happy to ask people to please join in the fun and still feel part of the Race for Life community."

Clare recalls how her life changed virtually overnight two years ago.

She had just finished night duty as a domiciliary care assistant when she started to feel very tired and unwell.

She then developed a rash on her chest and bruising on her legs.

Concerned, she looked up her symptoms and was alarmed to discover she could have leukaemia and immediately made an appointment with at the local health centre. A doctor felt that she was being over-anxious and she was sent home with details of the Samaritans helpline but within two days she was being told in hospital she was lucky to be alive.

Clare recalls: "I had a feeling in the back of my head that things weren't right.

"The doctor obviously did not agree with my suspicions as they gave me the number for the Samaritans, a prescription for beta blockers and told me to make an appointment for the following Tuesday for blood tests. This was on a Friday and Tuesday seemed so far away.

"As I left the surgery in tears, my younger daughter Meabh's school called me to say she had fallen and hit her head. That was the last thing I needed, but thankfully she was okay.

"I described my symptoms to my boss and we thought perhaps I just needed a week off work as I was over-tired.

"My mother was helping with the girls, who were just five and nine at the time, and she was completely dumbfounded to find me having a bath at 2.30am on the Saturday morning. I had thought perhaps the heat would help with the pains I was having."

After her bath Clare did fall asleep but was stunned when she woke to discover she had lost a whole day, sleeping for 24 hours straight.

She was further alarmed on waking to discover she had blood round her mouth as her gums were bleeding and she also found a huge bruise on her thigh, which was swollen.

She rang Craigavon hospital and was advised to come to A&E where blood tests were taken.

She recalls: "A short time after arriving at the hospital I was called to the yellow area and I knew from my job that was the admissions area. My bloods came back very quickly and when both a doctor and nurse came to talk to me, I just knew it was serious."

Clare was advised to go to the City Hospital right away and on arrival was met by a consultant and nurse who admitted her immediately and broke the news that she might have leukaemia.

Clare recalls: "I cried and the first stupid question I asked was, 'Am I going to lose my hair?' My thinking was that if I lost my hair the girls would know I was really ill, so I would have to tell them the truth."

Chemotherapy treatment started immediately and Clare was told that had she waited until the following Tuesday for blood tests, she may not have been alive. The cancer was 85% through her body and she was given around 16 hours to live.

She was offered a place on a Cancer Research UK trial called AML 19, which involved 10 days of chemo, day and night, from February 4 until the end of March.

She says: "I was in hospital for six to eight weeks at a time and sometimes didn't even see the kids. That was really difficult as they were so young, but my parents Margaret and Pat were a great help."

From February to September 2018, Clare had intense chemotherapy and tests showed her bone marrow was clear.

However, there was another blow in December when further tests revealed the leukaemia was back.

"I was devastated," said Clare. "I was readmitted to hospital on January 5 last year and remained there until March 7. I was allowed out for my daughter Lily's confirmation and we had a party before I went back into hospital that night."

Clare was forced to remain in quarantine in a stem cell room while receiving full body radiation and chemotherapy injections.

She needed a stem cell transplant to save her life. Her brother Darren and sister Alison - both musicians living in America at the time - had already been tested for stem cell transplant and Alison was relieved to be a 100% match.

On April 15 of last year, Clare went through her stem cell transplant.

Two weeks later she suffered a severe reaction and her body went into toxic shock.

She recalls: "I was told it was rare to have side effects but I had them all.

"My oesophagus was burned with the radiation and I couldn't walk or talk.

"I couldn't breathe and began vomiting blood. I woke up with an ICU team at my bedside that had to literally cut my clothes off due to swelling. I apparently had put on 4st in fluid due to the toxic shock. I remember asking, 'Am I going to die?'"

It was at this point an unusual encounter in the hospital changed things. A man visiting another patient with a religious relic from the saint Padre Pio enclosed in a frame asked if he could leave it with Clare, believing it might be something that would give her strength.

She decided that if she was to survive she had to be positive.

She says: "That was on May 2 and as I held the frame I was in tears, but next morning I got up and began physio, although I wasn't able to wear either shoes or slippers after gaining 4st in fluid due to toxic shock.

"I started to eat shortly after and nobody could believe it. I was discharged on May 15."

Today she feels indebted to her family and the staff at 10 North in Belfast City Hospital for their amazing care.

"I would also like to say a special thank-you to all my cousins and close friends for their love and support throughout my journey," she says. "My sister flew home from the US to be with me for the second round of treatment but my close friends, cousins and aunt Bernadette were with me the whole time."

And after everything she has been through, she is hoping to give something back by calling on people to support Cancer Research UK's Race for Life at Home event.

Last year Race for Life participants in Northern Ireland raised 98,646 to support vital research to develop gentler and more effective treatments for cancer.

Many of the scientists and researchers funded by Cancer Research UK are currently being redeployed to help in the fight against Covid-19, including assisting with testing.

By helping to beat coronavirus, the charity can lessen the impact it is having on the care of cancer patients.

Jean Walsh, Cancer Research UK's spokesperson for Northern Ireland, said: "At a time when it feels like everything is at a standstill, there is one thing that hasn't stopped - cancer.

"Our priority as a charity is ensuring that people affected by cancer are getting the support they need right now.

"But we are already getting people asking about doing Race for Life at Home because they don't want to see the charity lose out on vital funding. It's truly humbling to see the response.

"So, from their homes, we'd love for supporters to join us and Race for Life at Home in these challenging times. From a run or 5K walk around the garden to limbo in the living room, there is no wrong way to Race for Life at Home.

"With no entry fee, people might choose to twerk, limbo, star jump, squat, skip, dance, or come up with their own novel way of taking part and share it with friends. The message is very much that 'while we might be apart, we're doing this together'. There is no wrong way to get involved and join our community."

You can visit raceforlife.org and sign up free for ideas on how to create your own Race for Life at Home challenge.

And the Cancer Research UK Race for Life Facebook page will help people feel energised with weekly live workout sessions.

Organisers are also inviting participants to join the Race for Life at Home community by sharing photos and videos on social media using the hashtag #RaceForLifeAtHome.

Cancer Research UK was able to spend over 2m last year in Belfast on some of the UK's leading scientific and clinical research.

A new date for Race for Life Belfast has been set for Wednesday, October 7.

Participants who have already signed up for a Race for Life event which is now postponed will be contacted directly by the charity. Participants will be transferred to the new date but if they can't make it there is the option to request a refund or donate the entry fee to help fund cancer research.

Visit raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770. Join in and share with #RaceForLifeAtHome

Belfast Telegraph