A persistent bruise was an early sign of a rare malignancy in the daughter of Australian reality TV stars.
Carly Saunders and Tresne Middleton rose to fame on Australian reality TV after their appearance on the cooking competition show My Kitchen Rules. However, their eight-year IVF struggle, which they documented on their Instagram page, is what made them well-liked celebrities Down Under.
The couple welcomed Poppy Grace into the world on June 2, 2021. Poppy, on the other hand, was identified as having infantile acute lymphoblastic leukemia not long after she was born. According to the Mayo Clinic, this condition is characterized as “cancer of the blood and bone marrow—the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made. “.
Poppy lost her battle with cancer in February of this year, just four months shy of turning two.
Now that the illness is uncommon, the two are openly discussing its early signs.
“We noticed that she was starting to gain weight in her belly. There was some distention as a result. And after meals, she would frequently vomit in large quantities, Middleton told the Australian news organization 7news.
However, according to the pair, Poppy’s persistent thigh bruise was the real red flag.
“With leukemia, if they’re pale, if they have bruises, or if they’re bleeding excessively, those are usually signs that the disease is affecting their marrow and consequently their blood,” says Saunders. “.
Poppy’s bruise remained visible for five weeks.
According to Saunders, “We now wonder how we went so long without noticing she was so pale, but we had no idea because it happened so gradually. “.
When leukemia was found in Poppy’s body, she was only 11 weeks old. Saunders said to 7news, “She was our little miracle.”. “Since 2012, we had been trying to conceive a child. “That evening, we worried we might lose her. It was difficult every single day. “.
Because it had taken so much effort to get Poppy, she continued, “we didn’t at first believe it.
Due to her condition, Poppy had a bone marrow transplant before she turned one. Poppy’s condition began to worsen two days later, and doctors had to inform her parents that she was no longer going to make it.
The doctors had advised you to spend as much time with her as you can, Middleton recalled. “.
Because of pharmaceutical studies, they were given an additional eight months, and according to Middleton, “during that time, Poppy came into her own, like we saw her personality, we got to see just what a little shining star she was. “.
But Poppy passed away on February 16 as a result of a “traumatic” medical incident that was not publicly disclosed.
As her parents noted, “It’s astounding how much blood cancer patients in general and children with cancer need. This has led to an increase in blood donations made in Poppy’s honor.”. There is a severe blood shortage right now. “.
According to Middleton and Saunders, donations made in Poppy’s memory have helped to save 4000 lives.
We are conscious of how crucial it was for Poppy and all of her tiny friends who still need blood.
The two are continuing their campaign to encourage blood donations in Poppy’s memory and to educate parents about the early signs of leukemia.
In their descriptions of Poppy’s symptoms on Facebook and Instagram, they advised parents to be on the lookout for signs like fevers, swollen lymph nodes, joint pain, and headaches. They noted that Poppy experienced “pale skin due to her low [hemoglobin] (red blood cells), large vomits (due to her enlarged spleen), and a persistent bruise that stayed on her leg for weeks (due to low platelets).”.
