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When a father took an adorable snap of his daughter falling asleep on a swing, he soon realized that it was a symptom of a deadly disease.
Dave Fletcher wanted to capture a tender childhood picture of his sleeping Izzy daughter on a swing with her doll squeezed against her chest – but it has become a photo that he will never forget.
Shortly after taking the picture, Dave, 39, and his wife Vicky, 37, discovered that their child's fatigue was actually a sign of leukemia. The sun reported.
"It was just an afternoon to take out the swings. She turned around. I turned around and she fell, "said Fletcher.
"She was sleepy and fell asleep, but I did not think about it too much. I thought it was a cute moment and I just took a picture of it, as you do it.
Fletcher now warns other parents to stay alert and watch for signs of the disease.
"It was only after we realized that all of this was part of the symptoms and that I had captured it was its signs showing something more sinister."
Mr. Fletcher, of Worcester, England, said that his granddaughter was tired, that she had had some colds or viruses, and that she had a lot of leg bruising.
"But we attribute all this to normal childhood bumps and minor illnesses," he said.
Looking at images of Izzy before she became ill, Fletcher said it was hard to understand now everything she had experienced at such a young age.
It's in January that the couple took Izzy to the doctor for the first time, after a strange rash appears on his leg. She had extended the next morning and at a high temperature, they took her to the hospital.
Leukemia was diagnosed the same day and chemotherapy began the following week.
Now three, Izzy has undergone 570 doses of grueling chemotherapy and is now receiving maintenance treatment in an effort to prevent the cancer from coming back.
She spent her second birthday at the Birmingham Children's Hospital waiting to have a procedure to collect her bone marrow.
"She grew up very quickly and was subjected to medications she does not like, but she has followed everything so far," said Fletcher.
He added that although they were devastated by the shocking news, they were lucky that Izzy was quickly diagnosed and that she managed the treatment well.
"The type of leukemia that she has (a) a better chance of healing than others. She's young, which helps those chances, "said Fletcher.
Izzy has now been enrolled in a clinical trial called UKALL 2011, which aims to determine whether the evolution of chemotherapy treatment will reduce side effects and stay on treatment until next May. The sun reported.
"It makes us more optimistic. She does not need to take so many steroids because of her trial, "Fletcher said.
Recognizing this opportunity, he said it shows the importance of research in the development of new treatments.
Izzy has now received the Star Research Award from Cancer Research UK for children and teens in recognition of what she has experienced.
Her mother said that she was very happy to receive her award.
"It was a nice, positive experience that rewarded her for her efforts in treating her treatment," said Ms. Fletcher.
Jane Redman, spokesperson for Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens in Worcestershire, said: "Cancer can have a devastating impact on their lives and many of those who survive can live with serious long-term side effects of their treatment.
"Our mission is to fund research to find new, better, and nicer treatments for young cancer patients.
"We want to move forward the day every child and every young person survives with cancer with a good quality of life."
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