“I had wounds and nosebleeds that wouldn’t stop,” said Farihah, now 18. “When I couldn’t walk, that’s when my mum knew something was wrong.”
Farihah, a four-year-old from East London, began experiencing unexplained nosebleeds and bruising before suddenly becoming unable to move her leg.
Initially dismissed by her mother as a reluctance to attend school, Farihah’s symptoms prompted a medical referral. In October 2011, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
“I had wounds and nosebleeds that wouldn’t stop,” said Farihah, now 18. “When I couldn’t walk, that’s when my mum knew something was wrong.” Treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital, she underwent two years of chemotherapy, losing her hair three times and requiring a feeding tube.
Despite the grueling process, Farihah praised the hospital’s support. “They reassured me I would get better,” she recalled. Now cancer-free, she is preparing for university and aspires to be a film director—a passion born from her time in hospital watching films.
“I look back and feel proud,” she said. “They made it feel like home.”