Playground fall a lifesaver for Chloe Dickinson

Dec 8 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

A PLAYGROUND fall saved a young girl’s life when an X-ray revealed she had bone cancer. Chloe Dickinson, now 10, went for an X-ray at South Tyneside District Hospital after she broke her knee-cap in the tumble just over a year ago.

Once there, doctors found she had a 10cm malignant bone tumour in her right leg.

Since then, Chloe has faced a course of gruelling chemotherapy, but on Saturday family and friends held a celebration party to mark the end of her treatment.

Parents, Emma and Anthony Dickinson, from Jarrow, South Tyneside, said their brave little girl had “been through hell”.

Mrs Dickinson, 28, said: “Chloe has been amazing. She never lets things get her down and always has a great big smile on her face.

“Breaking her knee-cap was a blessing in disguise, because I don’t like to think what would have happened if they hadn’t detected the bone cancer when they did.

“I was horrified at first and just couldn’t take it in, but once they said the cancer was treatable, I was able to look to the future.”

Chloe was in traction over last Christmas and later started her long chemotherapy sessions, which helped save her life.

The Jarrow Cross Primary School pupil has spent much of the last year in hospital, at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle General and the city’s Freeman Hospital.

But Chloe somehow managed to keep up her spirits, even through the worst days of her treatment, and is now back at school.

Mrs Dickinson said: “It was terrible to watch Chloe sometimes, but she never let things get her down.

“But she was really upset when all her hair fell out and she had to wear a wig, which was donated by ID Hair salon, in Hebburn.

“Chloe’s a clever girl, who missed school and all her friends. She also missed her little brother, Owen, five, and our 15-month-old daughter, Ella.

“Apart from being in hospital for weeks on end, she had an operation to have a steel plate inserted in her right leg, with the metal expanding as she grows.

“Thankfully, Chloe’s chemotherapy is finished and her hair is starting to grow back. She will still have to attend hospital for check-ups and X-rays and doctors will keep an eye on her for the next 10 years, in case the cancer spreads.

“But she’s come through the worst of her illness and she’s really looking forward to celebrating her 11th birthday next week, and starting Jarrow School next September.”