My little girl, 5, had a sore arm at Xmas and now doctors say she has just months to live

Bonnie Spence first started showing symptoms on Christmas Eve when she complained she had a sore arm.

Nine weeks later, her arm was amputated and Bonnie’s devastated family were given the heartbreaking news that she likely had less than a year to live.

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Mum Zoe, 30, said she took her to hospital with a lump on her forearm that was causing her “excruciating pain”. She thought it might have been broken, and never expected to discover it was an extremely rare and aggressive childhood cancer.

Bonnie’s story

Zoe said: “On Christmas Eve morning, she came to me with a bad pain in her arm. It was swollen and misshaped. I was really concerned she had broken it.

“They gave her an X-ray and said there was no break there. They said it was likely to be a sprain, so they put her in a sling and sent her home. They told me to ice compress it to help the swelling go down.”

But over the next few days Bonnie’s arm continued to swell and Zoe rushed her daughter to A&E on New Year’s Eve.

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She said: “They offered an ultrasound and suspected it might have been a cyst. We waited another week until we got the appointment for the ultrasound. Her blood test returned as normal, so doctors no longer thought it was a cyst.”

On January 23, an MRI scan uncovered it was a tumour. From there, Bonnie was scheduled to have a biopsy on February 11.

The family did not find out Bonnie had cancer until February 26, two months after their first visit to the hospital.

She was diagnosed with rhabdoid sarcoma, a rare, aggressive childhood cancer that can develop in the kidneys, liver, soft tissues, or brain.

Zoe said: “Between the MRI and biopsy date, we had to take her back to the hospital as she was in agony, to the point where she couldn’t move her fingers and arm.

“She couldn’t go to school, and she was always clutching her arm close to her. She was screaming in agony, but no pain relief worked for her anymore.

“We drove her three-and-a-half hours away to Newcastle Hospital on February 24.

"They took her in straight away, alarmed at the size of her arm and how much pain she was in. They chased up the biopsy results, and we were told it was cancerous on February 26.”

The pressure on Bonnie’s arm became so bad that it led to compartment syndrome, an increase in pressure inside a muscle, which restricts blood flow and causes pain.

Her left arm was amputated. Three days later, doctors said the cancer had spread to her lungs, and predicted she sadly had less than a year to live.

Zoe said: “In the space of nine weeks, it went from a suspected broken arm to now terminal cancer with only a year given. This news absolutely shattered my whole world.

“She’s on chemotherapy to prolong her life, but we have been told the chemotherapy will stop working around the 28-week mark, and we will have no other options left.”

Zoe said she was disappointed by how long it took medical professionals to give Bonnie, a St Andrews Primary School pupil, the correct diagnosis.

She said: “We went through four hospitals to find this out. The number of times I had to take her to the hospital was shocking.

"They could see how much pain she was in, and doctors would dismiss it. It was clear to see it was growing aggressively and she was in agony.

“I am really disappointed. You have the ‘what ifs and the buts’ in the back of your mind, wondering what could have happened if it had been found sooner.

"Could it have been cleared? I will live with these questions for the rest of my life.

“I am exhausted and stressed. Knowing my daughter is three-and-a-half hours away is really hard, especially when you have four other children to stay strong for."

Zoe has now launched a GoFundMe to help pay for days out and rental costs, so she can move her family near to Newcastle Hospital, where Bonnie is receiving treatment.

She said: “I am a single mum, and my current situation means I have had to separate my children.

"My three-year-old and youngest are with an auntie in Liverpool as I cannot take them to the hospital with me while I am staying with Bonnie.

“I am currently running up debts paying for travel and accommodation costs to and from Bonnie as I do not drive.

“I am trying to move to Newcastle to be with Bonnie and bring the family back together, but rental costs are high.

“Time isn’t our friend right now, and I know this isn’t something that is going to happen overnight. I am worried I will miss the best months she has.”

Some of the £6,000 that has already been raised has been used to fund a family holiday in Whitley Bay.

Zoe said: “The money I have already received has been used for a caravan holiday in Whitley Bay as she had been asking to go to the beach for ages. She had a really good time.

“St Andrew’s Primary School in Oswaldtwistle, Bonnie’s school, has also been amazing and supported me a lot through this, helping to raise money."

Mum Zoe and dad Ian have set up GoFundMe’s to help raise money for Bonnie - A little Bonnie lass’s battle with cancer and My Beautiful Brave Bonnie.