It began as something small — a sharp pain in Ivie’s right leg that came and went, mostly at night.
Her mother thought it was just growing pains, maybe from football or netball. After all, Ivie was active, full of energy, and never one to complain.
But by June 2023, the pain had changed. It grew sharper, stronger, and began keeping Ivie awake at night. Something inside her mother whispered that it wasn’t normal. So, she called the GP.
The answer she got still haunts her: the earliest available appointment was five weeks away.
“I couldn’t wait,” she says. “Something in me just knew. I queued outside the practice at 7 a.m. the next morning until we were seen.”
That decision — to trust her instincts — may have saved Ivie’s life.
A Mother’s Worst Fear
At first, doctors thought it was a sports injury, maybe a small fracture. But when the X-ray came back, the room fell quiet. The doctor looked at the screen, then at Ivie’s mother, and said softly that they’d found a mass.
A few hours later, the phone rang again. The words still echo in her ears:
“We’ve found a tumour — 26 centimetres long, from her knee to her thigh.”
“My whole world collapsed,” her mother recalls. “I couldn’t stop crying. I knew this was cancer, and I was terrified.”
The biopsy at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital confirmed it — Spindle Cell Sarcoma of the Bone, an extremely rare and aggressive cancer that had invaded Ivie’s femur.
The Fight of Her Life
On August 2, 2023, Ivie began chemotherapy at University College London Hospital.
Each cycle lasted three long days and nights — harsh drugs like ifosfamide and doxorubicin attacking the cancer inside her bones.
The treatment was brutal.
“Ivie was so sick,” her mother says. “She lost her hair. She was weak. But she never once complained.”
And in the middle of that pain, Ivie said something that stopped everyone around her in their tracks.
“I don’t care about losing my hair,” she told another patient. “I just don’t want to die.”
Those words became her mother’s strength — the fire that kept her standing through sleepless nights and endless hospital corridors.
A New Leg, A New Beginning
On November 14, 2023, surgeons performed a complex, life-saving operation to remove Ivie’s tumour.
They replaced her entire femur and knee joint with a custom-made metal prosthesis, built for her in New York — one of the few “growing implants” of its kind. It would expand as she grew, sparing her from future surgeries.
Before surgery, Ivie’s doctors drew a small heart on her knee — a symbol of courage for the battle ahead.
The operation lasted hours, but when she woke up, her first words were, “Is it gone?”
It was.
Learning to Walk Again
Recovery was slow and painful.
Ivie had to learn to walk all over again. Each step required patience, physiotherapy, and courage.
She still walks with a crutch at school, but every day, she gets a little stronger. She dreams of running again — even though doctors say she may never play sports.
“She’s accepted it better than I have,” her mother admits. “She just keeps saying, ‘I’m lucky to be here.’”
Hope in the Hardest Places
By December 2023, Ivie had completed six cycles of chemotherapy. Her scans showed no signs of cancer. Now, she returns to the hospital every two months for checkups.
Through it all, she’s never lost her smile — or her admiration for the people who saved her.
“She has so much respect for her nurses and surgeons,” her mother says. “They became her heroes.”
And now, Ivie has a message for others walking this same road:
“Be strong. You can fight this.”
A Message to Every Parent
For Ivie’s mother, this journey has changed everything.
She often thinks about that morning when she queued outside the GP’s office — and how close she came to waiting five weeks longer.
“I didn’t know it was cancer,” she says. “I just knew something felt wrong. Parents need to trust their instincts. Push for answers. Don’t ever give up.”
She now advocates for more awareness about rare childhood cancers — especially those like Ivie’s, which show few visible signs.
“Too many parents are told to wait. Too many children are misdiagnosed with growing pains. GPs need more training and parents need to be heard.”
The Light That Remains
Today, Ivie is 10 years old.
She wears her scars with pride — proof of everything she’s survived. She may not play football again, but she’s found new passions: reading, art, and inspiring other young patients.
When asked what she wants to do when she grows up, Ivie’s answer comes without hesitation.
“I want to be a nurse — like the ones who helped me.”
Her mother smiles through tears.
“She’s my hero,” she says softly. “She faced cancer with more bravery than I’ve ever seen.”
Ivie’s story is not just one of illness — it’s one of instinct, resilience, and hope.
It’s a reminder that strength doesn’t always look like winning races or climbing mountains.
Sometimes, it looks like a little girl learning to walk again — and smiling through the pain.
💛 “Be strong. You can fight this.” — Ivie
