Little girl, 6, given weeks to live after going to doctors for arm sprain | UK | News
A six-year-old girl was given just a few weeks to live after doctors believed the lump on her arm was nothing more than a sprain. A scan revealed a heartbreaking diagnosis confirming that Bonnie-Leigh Spence had approximately eight weeks to live.
Bonnie-Leigh, whose family lives in Consett, County Durham, first noticed a lump on her arm in December 2024, which was accompanied by sharp pain. Although doctors initially believed it was just a sprain, a scan during her second visit to the hospital revealed that Bonnie had Rhabdoid Sarcoma. Rare and highly aggressive, childhood cancer is often diagnosed in babies under one year of age and develops in the kidneys, brain, or soft tissues. Currently, its prognosis is poor and requires intensive treatment.
As reported by Great Britain NewsHis stepmother, Caroline Spence, said doctors expected the disease to peak in mid-March. The 32-year-old revealed: “The cancer doubled again in six weeks.”
Bonnie-Leigh had a full-body MRI at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. It turned out that the disease had begun to spread to his lungs, where it began cutting nerves and leaving toxins in his kidneys.
Caroline said: “They had to amputate his arm above the elbow and after that he had chemotherapy for 28 weeks. He had chemotherapy every two weeks; it was an intense 28 weeks. Around June he had two weeks of radiotherapy to shrink the tumors in the lungs. They were huge.”
But despite treatment, Bonnie-Leigh was told the tumors were “gaining momentum again”. The family is now raising money to give Bonnie-Leigh as many wonderful experiences as possible.
Caroline said: “The doctors said he was on the maximum dose of chemotherapy so we’re basically waiting for the tumors in his body. They’re just waiting for it to gain momentum, they said it would be around mid-March. We could lose a few days after the peak.”
The family established a facility GoFundMe In addition to visiting Disneyland, the page also paid for going out with the Newcastle United captain before the match. Caroline said the family had to “pack a lifetime of memories into one year.”
The GoFundMe appeal says: “The money you donate will provide Bonnie with the best memories and moments with her family for the time she has left. Bonnie doesn’t yet fully understand her circumstances, so it means so much to us to give her the memories of being surrounded by those who love her so dearly and unconditionally.”
