A mum has urged parents to trust their instincts after her four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer.
Annabell Broom noticed Ferryn Broom's moods were erratic and her temperature was soaring just one week before doctors confirmed she had leukaemia.
The 32-year-old, from the Highlands, near Golpsie, Scotland, said her gut told her something was "off" about her child when the changes began appearing at bedtime.
But nothing could have prepared her for what was to come, reports the Daily Record.
Mum-of-two Annabell said Ferryn was "so healthy and fit and normal" when she suddenly started "becoming over-emotional about small things and her temperature start spiking at night".
"I just knew something was off," she explained.
Ferryn's GP took some blood tests as a precaution and Annabell took her daughter home expecting her to need little more than antibiotics to help her feel better.
But the situation soon became every parent's worst nightmare, when the family were woken by paramedics at their front door at 1am on Friday, April 1.
Medics explained that Ferryn needed urgent medical treatment and rushed her and confused mum Annabell to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
Shortly afterwards, doctors at the hospital broke the devastating news to Annabell that Ferryn had cancer, which further tests confirmed was acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The tot was then transferred to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital by ambulance, where she was given an emergency blood transfusion.
Annabell said: "When the paramedics came to the door all we knew was that Ferryn was extremely poorly. It was terrifying.
"They wouldn't tell me what was going on in the ambulance, because I was having a panic attack, but they broke the news to me very gently when we got to the hospital."
Ferryn, who has since had another blood transfusion, is now set for six months of intensive treatment, including gruelling chemotherapy.
This will be followed by two years of outpatient treatment and her parents have been told that she's unlikely to get the all-clear until she is around eight-years-old.
Now Annabell is urging other parents to trust their instincts when they see any change in their child's health or behaviour.
She added: "I caught this early, because I noticed a subtle change in her.
She added: "My advice to every parent is that even if everyone around you is saying ‘it’s fine’, push for what to feel you need because if I hadn’t pushed it would have been a later diagnosis and we could be in a very different situation."
Now Annabell and Ferryn's dad, Ed, who are both self-employed, face another nightmare scenario with the family separated by a 160 mile-journey between the hospital and home.
The three hour round trip is costing the family hundreds of pounds in fuel, leaving them fearful of being plunged into debt.
Annabell said: "I am staying at the hospital with Ferryn while my husband is at home with our son, Joseph.
"We'd like to see each other every day, but it's costing around £80 each time to make the journey.
"The rising cost of fuel on top of our reduced income is stressful. We will do what we have to do and the most important thing is that we have Ferryn.
A fundraiser has been launched to support the family, with over £1,000 already raised as their community rally together.
You can donate to Ferryn's fundraiser here.
