- Sophie Coldwell's parents blame no one for her death and hope what happened to her can help save other lives
- Sent home from NHS walk-in centre but died in hospital 10 days later
- Boyfriend's tribute to 'amazing' girl: 'My world, my rock, my shoulder'
By Hugo Gye
PUBLISHED: 05:14 EST, 11 April 2013 | UPDATED: 06:22 EST, 12 April 2013
A teenage girl died from a rare form of leukaemia just 10 days after doctors told her she was only suffering from tonsillitis and fatigue.
Sophie Coldwell, 17, had been feeling tired for some time, but her parents attributed it to the increased burden of schoolwork.
In fact, she was suffering from a cancer so aggressive that a hospital consultant said he had never seen anything like it - and now her family hopes to save others by raising awareness of the devastating condition.
Tragic: Sophie Coldwell, 17, died after falling victim to a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia last month
Sophie visited an NHS walk-in centre on March 7, but was sent home after being diagnosed with chronic fatigue, tonsillitis and inflamed gums.
But her condition failed to improve in the following days, and on March 16 her parents called an ambulance to their home in Yardley, Birmingham when her breathing became shallow and raspy.
She lost consciousness on the way to Solihull Hospital and although she was later transferred to Heartlands Hospital she never recovered, dying in the early hours of March 17 from suspected acute monoblastic myeloid leukaemia.
Helpless: Doctors sent her home 10 days earlier, and her parents thought she was just tired from working harder at school
Sophie's father Andy, 46, a manager at Jaguar Land Rover, said today that he hoped the news of her sudden death could save lives in the future.
'Sophie wasn't feeling that well,' he said. 'She couldn't eat because her mouth was that sore. She had a tough 10 days, really.
'She felt tired. At the time, we put that down to it being her first year in college, it was longer hours - it didn't really raise any concerns at the time.
'As a father, I question everything I did and whether any more could have been done. The fact it took everybody by surprise doesn't mean you still don't do that as parents.
'The consultant said teams would learn from this because of how aggressive and quickly it happened.'
Her mother Sherry, 46, a receptionist at a doctor's surgery, added: 'The consultant said he had never seen anything so aggressive. How quickly it happened was just something he had not seen before.'
Sophie was a student at Solihull Sixth Form College, and had been going out with her boyfriend Matt Robinson since November last year.
The 18-year-old knew his girlfriend was unwell, but had no idea how serious her condition would turn out to be.
In a moving last text he wrote to Sophie, he said: 'You've gone from a girl I added on Facebook to being my life, my heart, my soul, my world, my rock, my shoulder, my everything.
'You're just amazing. Everything about you is stunning, from your smile to your eyes, from your hair to your half-painted nails, from your freckles on top of your shoulders to the freckles on your forehead my perfection.'
Death: Sophie lost consciousness on the way to Heartlands Hospital, pictured, and never recovered
Her sister Katie, 14, wrote a poignant letter to Sophie which was printed in the order of service at her funeral.
SYMPTOMS OF LEUKAEMIA
The five most common signs of cancer in young people aged 13 to 24 are persistent and unexplained pain, extreme tiredness, weight loss, an unexplained lump, bump or swelling or changes in a mole.
Other symptoms of acute myeloid leukaemia include: pale skin, breathlessness, having repeated infections over a short space of time, unusual and frequent bleeding (such as bleeding gums or nose bleeds).
Easily bruised skin, excessive sweating and bone and joint pain are others.
She wrote: 'Your life was only just beginning, there is so much that you're going to miss out on, but I know that you will be watching over me and making sure that I make the right decisions, which is all I can ask from you.
'I hope that you are okay up there and I bet you're still saying "Get out of my room". One day, we will be together again. I just wish that I was there to say goodbye.'
Mr Coldwell said: 'Every day is a struggle, and that's really down to how quickly it happened. It's taken a while for us to get our heads around.
'We have had really fantastic support from family, friends and Sophie's friends, who are taking Katie out and promise to look after her.
'She met Matt in November. I'm a typical father but Matt, right from the start, hit it off with Sophie and with us. From a dad point of view, he ticked all the boxes straight away. You could almost see the connection they had.'
For more information: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Leukaemia-acute/Pages/Symptoms.aspx
http://www.teenagecancertrust.org/
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