A 22-year-old woman is unable to walk or talk after she had a stroke caused by undiagnosed leukaemia.
Cleo Davies, from Axford, Wiltshire, was found in her bed “staring into space” and unable to speak or move by her boyfriend Dan on January 8.
She was taken to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon where doctors discovered she had acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) – a type of blood cancer that affects cells called promyelocytes, which are white blood cells at an early stage of development.
Further tests revealed that she had also suffered a stroke caused by a blood clot, which occurred due to APL triggering clots and excessive bleeding.
Her parents, Heather Davies, 48, and Lee Davies, 49 were told that the “first 24 to 48 hours would be touch and go”, and despite having complications such as sepsis, Cleo has defied the odds and kept fighting.
As Cleo’s entire right side is paralysed and requires intensive rehabilitation, her aunty Fiona Campbell, 45, who lives in Glasgow, launched a fundraiser which has raised over £24,000.
Fiona, who is speaking on behalf of Cleo and her parents, said: “When I heard the news, I thought: ‘Is this really happening?’
“Doctors keep giving us bad news but Cleo is just beating the odds and keeps fighting, she’s so strong.”
Cleo was “having fun” with her friends on New Year’s Eve and showed no warning signs that anything was wrong in the days that followed.
However, on January 8, her boyfriend, who was staying over at Cleo’s parents’ house, found her sitting up at the end of the bed in the middle of the night “staring into space” and she was unable to speak or move.
Cleo’s parents immediately rang 999, but as they live in a rural area, an ambulance would take hours to arrive.
With her boyfriend’s help, they carried Cleo to their car and drove her to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.
At the hospital, doctors discovered she had acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) and further tests revealed that she had also suffered a stroke caused by a blood clot, which occurred due to APL triggering clots and excessive bleeding.
Cleo’s parents were told that the “first 24 to 48 hours would be touch and go” and doctors were unsure if she would survive – so, she was taken to intensive care for blood transfusions and platelet treatments.
Fiona said: “Treatment wasn’t simple – normally, for a stroke, they would give you blood thinners, but they couldn’t do that with her because of the leukaemia – the two things were sort of counteracting each other.”
Doctors were unsure how long she had leukaemia, but explained that it was likely a “recent” development.
Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) symptoms
Blood Cancer UK
- Bruising easily and bleeding such as gums, wounds, or bleeding on the brain that may cause headaches, difficulty speaking or difficulty moving parts of the body
- Blood clots (thrombosis) which can lead to a painful or swollen leg, chest pain, difficulty breathing, headaches or vomiting
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Increased risk of infections
Fiona took the next available flight from Glasgow to be by her niece’s side.
“It was absolutely horrific,” she said.
“It was terrifying… on the first day, I got to hold her hand, and she would wake up for a wee bit and see me, and she was squeezing my hand, and then she would fall back to sleep again.”
As a result of the stroke, Cleo lost her speech and is paralysed on the right side of her body.
Fiona said: “When we went down, the only thing that she could do was make a little noise.
“She was trying to talk to you. You could see her looking in your eyes, and she wanted to speak but she couldn’t.
“She also keeps dislocating her jaw… it might be because of the stroke affecting her muscles, but she has had to have braces fitted to hold her jaw in place.
“She can stand but only for a second or two, she needs to get all of the strength back in her body.”
Fiona has not seen Cleo since, as she has been pregnant and had a planned C-section on March 6, preventing her from flying.
However, she remains in constant contact with Cleo’s parents, video calling them as much as possible.
“You just feel so helpless,” Fiona said.
“It’s been a living nightmare for them… I think it’s been really traumatic and it’ll take them a while to process it.”
Cleo began chemotherapy straightaway but after a week in hospital, she developed sepsis.
Doctors were unsure of the cause and, again, did not know if she was going to make it – but, within a matter of days, Cleo made a full recovery.
Her future remains uncertain, but she has “repeatedly amazed and impressed the doctors” with her chemotherapy progress.
Cleo is still in hospital and receives physiotherapy and speech therapy. However, her family feel she would benefit from a personalised plan.
So Fiona launched a GoFundMe in the hope of securing private rehabilitation at Hobbs Neurological Rehabilitation Services and has so far raised more than £24,000 in donations, and the family are “unbelievably grateful”.
Reflecting on the experience, Fiona believes there is a misconception about strokes.
“People think strokes only happen to old people but it can happen to young people too,” Fiona said.
“We were so shocked with it as well, so I think it’s good to get Cleo’s story out there so others can be more aware.”
To find out more, visit her GoFundMe
