Little Isla-Mae Dunn beamed as she rang the treatment bell to mark the all-clear from cancer - two-and-a-half years after a GP misdiagnosed her with tonsillitis. It was a day mum Laura, 31, and dad Reece, 34, feared they might never see.
The devastated couple were told Isla, now five, died three times during gruelling treatment for leukaemia and a tumour - and they had even started to plan for her funeral. "We didn't know if Isla would make it," mum Laura, from Nottinghamshire, said.
"We had started to plan what we would do if the worst happened. She was thankfully given the all-clear after her last round of chemotherapy on September 2, and she rang the hospital bell as people cheered."
She added: "We had a little tea party for her with cake. We're so proud of her. What she's been through has been heartbreaking."
Laura, who is also mum to Mia, 13, Noah, 10, and Bonnie Grace, two, thought it was just a cold when Isla, then two, developed a fever and a sore throat in April 2020, during lockdown.
On a video call with their GP, Laura was told Isla had tonsillitis and she was prescribed antibiotics that didn't work.
Five days later, Reece called an ambulance as Isla's breathing "wasn’t right" at night.
"It was like her heart was working overtime and she was wheezing," he told MakeTheHeadlines.
"The paramedics checked and said she was fine and arranged another video call with a consultant - they said it was too risky with Covid to take her into the hospital, so we agreed.
"On the call, the consultant told us Isla definitely had tonsillitis and prescribed her different antibiotics, but they didn’t work either."
A few days later, Isla developed bruising and a rash, and Laura called her GP again on May 4, 2020.
He told her to do the 'glass test', and when the rash didn't disappear - a possible sign of sepsis - to take Isla immediately to hospital.
"We got in the car, and Isla was still playing and smiling, so we didn't expect it to be anything serious," Reece said.
"Even when I dropped her and Laura at King's Mill Hospital, Isla turned to me and grinned 'see you later, daddy'."
Isla underwent seven hours of tests, before Laura was told the diagnosis - that Isla had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and a tumour that was pushing down on her spleen.
Laura explained: "I went into shock. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I said 'there's no way she's got cancer, she's running around!' I called Reece, and he said the same thing - we were both in denial."
Laura and Isla were transferred to Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, where Isla was immediately taken to theatre to insert a Hickman line, or a "wiggly" - a tube used to administer chemo or medication.
"I had to leave her crying at the theatre doors, I couldn't go in with her," Laura said. "She didn't know what was happening, she didn't want to be put to sleep. It was the worst experience ever.
"Afterwards, I was told it was going to be too risky to bring Isla back around because her tumour was too big, so they put her on a ventilator for four days and started her on chemo to shrink it.
"She was sedated to give her body a rest. I could sit by her bedside all day but not at night.
"I would talk to her, play nursery rhymes. But when the drugs started to wear off, she would try to climb out of bed.
"When they tried to bring her back round and get her off the ventilator, they had to abandon two attempts as it wasn't safe - they told me she died three times in the process. I was beside myself with worry."
Isla was moved onto a children's cancer ward, where she underwent chemo to fight the leukaemia.
The aggressive treatment took its toll on the tot, who lost the ability to walk, sit and eat by herself, and saw her needing nappies again despite being potty trained.
Laura also found clumps of Isla's long brown hair on her hospital bed pillow. "That's when I knew she had cancer, it really hit me," she recalled.
Two weeks later, Laura, who was pregnant at the time, was told Isla could return home - but just days later they were back in hospital as Isla had developed a blood clot "swinging on her heart".
"It was caused by the wiggles, and if the clot had come off in one go into her vein, it could have killed her," Laura said.
This time, Isla was in hospital for three months - including for her third birthday in June, and while Laura gave birth to Bonnie.
She said it was "bitter sweet" as they wanted to celebrate the newborn's arrival, but also felt as though they shouldn't due to Isla being so poorly.
Isla was allowed home just before Christmas 2020 after her second round of chemo, but only after Laura had been given training on how to give her twice-daily blood thinning injections.
"She was so tired, and wasn't really playing," Laura said. "We made the best of it for her, and she needed help opening her presents.
"I was trying to keep it together, finding positives in the dark situations - even if it was her sitting up by herself or taking a step."
Isla was readmitted to hospital in January 2021 - and spent the next 12 months in and out of the ward with infections.
Due to Isla not having a 'wiggly' it meant she had to have a cannula in every other day to administer drugs or do blood tests.
Reece explained: "A new doctor was trying to insert a cannula into her hand - he kept trying and trying until a nurse came up and said 'stop, she needs a break, you've tried six times, leave her alone now'.
"Isla had Covid twice. Then in February 2021, she got neutropenic, and her white blood cells dropped down and she couldn't fight infections. The consultant said if it didn't go back up, she would have to go into intensive care. That was the period we had to start planning for her funeral."
Laura added: "We started to talk about what we would do if the worst came to the worst."
Isla's condition improved, but she was in and out of hospital every month.
Two weeks before Christmas 2021, she was readmitted with a potential fungal infection, but was allowed out on December 24 to see her family.
In June this year, Isla began her third and last round of chemo. And on September 2, she was given the all-clear, after six blood tests came back negative for signs of infection.
"We were allowed nine guests," Reece said.
"Isla had to read a plaque and ring the bell. There were cheers, but some of the nurses didn't even know, so it would have been nice if everyone who had treated Isla could have been there."
Laura added: "We did balloons and a banner. But we'll do another party when we're further down the line.
"We've been very blessed throughout this - strangers have been so kind.
"We were given a £3,000 donation by a lady in the village, so we bought a caravan as Isla can't go on holiday abroad.
"We've also been touched by the support of smaller charities too such as Lennox Children's Cancer Trust, Joseph Cooper Trust, Jamie #forever12 - it's brought us hope."
Now the family are planning for a "budgeted" Christmas - the first one in three years with Isla cancer-free.
"Isla is five now and has started school. She's started to revert back to her old self and loves singing and dancing - and her hair has grown back," Laura said.
"She would like a Barbie DreamHouse but most of all, she wants to meet George Ezra as she loves his music.
"It's going to be a special family time. I hope we've come to the end of what has been a really traumatic time but we've still got a way to go - Isla needs to undergo checkups and tests for the next five years."
She added: "It's made me appreciate the little things in life, and we just want to offer that same hope to other parents who might be going through the same thing - there is light at the end of the tunnel. Just keep going."
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