NINE YEAR OLD GIRL'S 'PULLED MUSCLE' TURNS OUT TO BE CANCER
A nine year old girl nearly lost her leg after doctors initially misdiagnosed her bone cancer as a pulled muscle. Brave nine-year-old Hannah Baker was left in agony as a 22cm tumour grew on her left leg, but was told it was just a sports injury after visiting her GP. Two weeks later when the pain got worse, her concerned parents Paul, 36, and Shim, 35, rushed her back to her doctor who recommended an x-ray of the youngster's leg, which revealed the huge tumour on her femur. Mum Shim believes had the tumour not been caught early in April this year, it could have proved fatal. She said: “Hannah had been doing lots of sports and complained that her leg was aching. "She didn’t compete in the school cross country and I noticed as she walked back from watching it she was moving strangely.... SEE HOTSPOT COPY 0121 551 1004 “I picked her up to put her in my lap and she screamed. "The doctor and us thought she had just pulled a muscle and we went away with painkillers. "It was just luck we found it and acted so quickly but we never thought for a moment it could be cancer. "We went back two weeks later and the GP suggested we go for an X-ray to be on the safe side. “Three hours later Hannah and I were told they had found a tumour. In two weeks we had gone from having a healthy little girl to her having cancer. "We were left numb and speechless. "We thought we're going to wake up in a minute from all this but we just had to stay strong and be there for each other." Hannah’s older sister Emily, 11, and the family from Clee St Margaret, Shropshire, were distraught as they awaited to find out how badly the osteosarcoma tumour had grown. After a nervous few weeks (how many weeks?) of chemotherapy Hannah’s treatment was successful but she faced losing the leg altogether.
Other great stories
BABY WORKOUT
FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .
£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED
A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .
WOMAN REVEALS HOW DAUGHTER WAS STABBED TO DEATH BY VIOLENT EX WHILE HER CHILDREN WATCHED
A mother-of-four has revealed how her daughter was stabbed to death by her ex partner, while their horrified children watched on .
SNEAKY OTTER
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .
ANTS IN TUG OF WAR
A trio of ants are locked in a tug of war over a fly as they pull the bug by its legs .
PORTRAITS IN PAKISTAN
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
BRITAIN'S LOST MILITARY HOSPITAL
WELCOME to all that remains of Britain's once state-of-the-art military hospital where plastic surgery was pioneered for injured WW1 troops who survived the SOMME .
GIRAFFES DUCK FOR COVER
DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .
BUNGLING DRUG DEALER CAUGHT IN TOP COP'S PARKING SPACE
A prolific drug dealer was caught red-handed in a car filled with amphetamines after he decided to park in a top copper's parking space - as a joke .
ADORABLE STOAT HUNTS IN THE SNOW
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
CHEEKY FROG HITCHES A RIDE ON A SNAIL
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .