A 26-year-old beautician received a life-changing cancer diagnosis after A&E doctors had reportedly sent her home after putting her pain down to kidney stones. Jodie Cox, from Telford, went to hospital during the coronavirus pandemic after experiencing pain down one side of her back.
Doctors reportedly told her that kidney stones could be the cause and she was sent home with an acid reflux diagnosis. The salon manager returned when the pain became excruciating but again claims she was sent home.
Then in January 2021, Jodie and boyfriend Luke Watson made a third trip to the hospital after she struggled to stand steadily. Recalling the terrifying ordeal Luke, 28, told BlackCountryLive : “One night she started to lose feeling in her legs so I took her to A&E, she was stumbling into the hospital and I had to support her.
"She never walked back out of A&E. She was transferred to Oswestry Hospital where they discovered a tumour in her spine.”
Jodie was given the devastating news that she had an aggressive type of osteosarcoma - a form of bone cancer. Within 18 hours she lost all feeling in both legs and was paralysed from the waist down. The cancer had led to a T10 incomplete spinal cord injury. Medics also found small tumours in her lung.
The 26-year-old, who loved walking her mother-in-law’s dogs, now faced the prospect of never being able to walk again. Due to strict coronavirus restrictions, she was alone when she received the diagnosis.
Luke has given up his job as a contractor in order to be Jodie's carer and added: “It all happened very fast. She FaceTimed me and my mum to tell us about the tumour then we didn’t hear from her for the rest of the day as she was rushed to surgery. It was incredibly difficult.
“When she first got the news from the doctors she went into shock, by the time she told us she was a little bit numb. I was distraught and my mum had a panic attack.”
Jodie underwent intensive chemotherapy after being transferred to a hospital in Manchester, and she is currently back there for a second course of treatment. Jodie and Luke had been looking forward to buying a home together, getting married and starting a family, while she has also had to give up her job and passion for beauty therapy.
“Adjusting to life with paralysis has been incredibly difficult for Jodie, there’s more to it than not being able to walk”, Luke added. “She also suffers from nerve pain which is probably the worse part of it, she’s in absolute agony from the waist down. It feels like her legs are on fire and she can’t move. She has to rely on me a lot now, I had to leave my job to take care of her.
“She has physiotherapy which has been helping with her independence, bone density and strength as well as increasing her chance of recovery. She can feel temperature and began moving her toes recently but doctors have said it’s unlikely she will ever walk again.”
A GoFundMe page has been launched for Jodie and her family, find out more here. Speaking from hospital while undergoing treatment, Jodie told BlackCountryLive: “I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without all the support around me, especially from Luke, family and friends.
“That’s what keeps you going the most, when you are down they pick you back up again, the people that you have around you make the biggest difference. If anyone is going through a similar thing and want to reach out to have someone to talk to, or ask questions, I want them to be able to reach out to me, it helps you feel like you are not alone.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to normality, not having to live in hospitals and not think about being sick all the time and live how I used to live before.” You can follow Jodie's journey by visiting her Instagram page here.
A spokesperson for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: “Whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases, we always endeavour to provide the highest possible standard of care to those we serve and, for where we may not have lived up to this, we have comprehensive and rigorous processes in place. We will always ensure a full and thorough investigation is undertaken on any concerns a patient has about their treatment and, through this, we will seek to address any issues raised.”
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