Anna Rose Bradley, 9, from Washington was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia last month
A nine-year-old Sunderland fanatic was diagnosed with cancer after being hit in the face with a tennis ball during a PE lesson. Anna Rose Bradley suffered an injury at St Joseph’s Primary School in Washington, which resulted in her gums swelling up and an ulcer forming.
But after a number of tests and hospital admissions, Anna was sadly diagnosed with leukaemia. The football-mad youngster is now undergoing chemotherapy and spent over four weeks in hospital. Despite her diagnosis, Anna is bravely battling the blood cancer and is itching to get back to playing the sport she loves.
Anna’s mam, Kelsey Hall, 28, told Chronicle Live: “One day she came home from school and said she’d been hit in the face with a tennis ball during PE. There was a little bruise on her gum. We thought nothing of it, but then it developed into an ulcer.
“By luck, I’d booked a dentist appointment anyway, so they took pictures of it, it was minute. The next morning it was a bit bigger and by the time I finished work a couple of days later it was infected.”
Soon, Anna fell ill and her dentist referred her to Sunderland Royal Hospital. But when her condition worsened, Kelsey took her daughter straight to the A&E department.
After blood tests, Anna was found to have a high white blood cell count before being transferred to Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary where she underwent a bone marrow biopsy. On June 20, Anna was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, a cancer which Kelsey says only around 80 children a year are diagnosed with.
Kelsey, from Washington, continued: “She had spent four and a half weeks at the RVI, she’s had numerous infections and lost her hair two weeks ago, so that was a hard hit for her. Apart from that she’s doing really well.”
Anna’s passion is football, and she adores Sunderland AFC and went to Wembley to see the Black Cats get promoted. She already has her season ticket secured for the new season.
She’s also an avid player herself, and plays as a defender for Washington United. Kelsey added: “She just wants to be out being busy at what she did before, but mobility wise, she can’t as she’s in a wheelchair. She can sometimes do some walking, but she’s getting exhausted, she’s having to learn to walk again and is walking with a limp.
“She’s itching to get back to playing football. At the moment she’s happy and so happy to be home in her own house and bedroom. She loves seeing her family and friends and a football presentation was held not long ago where she received a trophy. She will get there, it’s just a matter of when.”
Anna, who is an older sister to one-year-old Ronan, is currently working with a physio and is due to undergo a bone marrow transplant and biopsy in the coming days. The biopsy will determine how the chemotherapy is working and whether or not she is in remission.
To help Kelsey and her partner, Louis Young, 30, with the frequent hospital trips and to help with Anna’s care, a GOFundMe page was set up to help raise £3,500 – and the target has almost been hit. Donate to the fundraiser here.
