Olivia Careless Little British girl who recovered from leukemia and osteoarthritis Country: Great Britain

A Little British Girl Who Overcame Leukemia and Osteoarthritis

Could the parents of two-year-old Olivia Kearless, whom doctors predicted a terrible disability, imagine that their daughter would not only walk again, but also put on ballet shoes? Olivia was diagnosed with a dreadful illness in July 2009 when she was just two years old. Her mother, 34-year-old Sarah from Hull, recalls, "My daughter started feeling unwell before Christmas. I kept taking her to the hospital because of a persistent rash. On Christmas Day, I brought her to the hospital where they told me she had mumps." The little girl was prescribed isoprenoids, thinking that her swollen lips were due to an allergy. But Olivia did not get better. At the age of two, children are usually very active, but the girl was so emaciated that she seemed to have no energy at all. And then one day, bruises appeared all over Kearless' body. Doctors promptly conducted a blood test, revealing acute myeloid leukemia in the girl. They did not hide this fact from the parents: had they sought help a couple of days later, Olivia could have died. Sarah says, "Our whole world was turned upside down. All those months when she was unwell, she actually had cancer. It was horrible. She was only two years old, and we were told that she had such a disease." Olivia had to undergo chemotherapy treatment. She lost her hair and suffered from very high temperatures. Her mother adds, "It was terrible to watch her undergo treatment, it was awful to feel helpless and unable to do anything to help her. She had such severe pains that doctors had to give her a lot of morphine. She had abscesses in her liver, spleen, and stomach, and she lost so much weight." In March 2010, Olivia began her second course of chemotherapy, and after three months, her bones became so fragile that when her mother changed her diapers, the girl's bones would snap. Doctors diagnosed osteoarthritis, which appeared as a result of aggressive chemotherapy. Sarah says, "My heart was breaking when I saw her lying there with plaster casts on her legs. Doctors said her bones were so fragile that she would never be able to walk." In the summer of 2011, the girl began a course of treatment to strengthen her legs. At the same time, she was prescribed a course of physiotherapy. Sarah says, "Her attempts to learn to walk were agonizing. But there was one more thing. When she told me, 'Mommy, I want to dance,' my heart stopped. I thought it was just impossible." And yet, the brave girl promised her mother that she would definitely recover and start taking dance lessons. Olivia took her first steps that same summer. From that moment on, her recovery progressed in leaps and bounds. Treatment ended in December 2012, and currently, Kearless' cancer is in remission. She was enrolled in a dance school, where today Olivia puts all her efforts into successfully passing her first ballet exam. Sarah says, "She absolutely loves to dance, and it was very touching when my daughter came to her first lesson. Sylvia pushes herself, never gives up. Sometimes she gets very tired, but she never complains. She is our little heroine." Not long ago, this poor little girl lay with plaster casts on her legs. No one could even imagine that she would be able to walk, let alone dance. And to see seven-year-old Olivia Kearless perform today is simply a breathtaking sight.