Arella’s Story

Emma Weldridge lives in Dublin with her three children, Arella, Anaya, Teddy & their father Karl. 

When Arella was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in May 2024, life turned upside down for the whole family. They are sharing their experience to raise vital funds and awareness this International Childhood Cancer Day. 

Our three children are extremely different with huge personalities. I run a dance company in Dublin and Arella is a dancer there and a gymnast. She’s always been so bubbly and outgoing. Anaya is the exact opposite. She’s very laid back, chilled and she loves gaming and boxing. Teddy is a mix of them both. He’s just a ball of energy and he’s so creative. He loves superheroes and dressing up.

We’ve always been a family that loves to go on adventures and trips. We’re so busy and we’re always planning the next thing. Family time is very important to us.

In January 2024 we went to Disneyland and Arella was running around and full of life. From late January to March, I noticed a dramatic change in her fitness and energy levels. She looked pale and just wasn’t herself. She also had unexplained bruising. I brought her to the GP twice, but they said she was fine, so we went on as normal. But I couldn’t shake the gut feeling that something was wrong. Arella was able to go to school every day, but she didn’t have the same energy for dance and gymnastics that she usually did. She was also clingy, tired and irritable.

Arella’s friend had passed away from cancer and my cousin had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma the year before, so I was hyper aware of childhood cancer.

I knew something wasn’t right, so I took Arella to Temple Street Children’s Hospital and asked for blood tests. Within 90 minutes, she was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Even though I had a feeling something was wrong, until that point, I still thought there would be some other explanation. I thought she would be anaemic. As a parent you fear the worst, but you never think your child will be diagnosed with cancer. For the next 24 hours, everything was a blur. You just have no idea what you’re dealing with and it’s an indescribable feeling of completely drowning in the unknown. Before the diagnosis, I hadn’t even known there were different types of leukaemia.

We were referred to Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin and they explained that CML is extremely rare in children and progresses very slowly so it’s difficult to diagnose. I sometimes wonder if Arella hadn’t done such active sports, would I have picked up on it as quick?

Cancer Fund for Children were there for us from the beginning. Arella had a Cancer Support Specialist, Claire, who came to the house when she got out of hospital, and it was a great support. In those early days, you think there’s a right and wrong way to handle everything, but Claire validated our fears and showed us we weren’t alone. She was the first therapeutic professional Arella had ever talked to, and it gave Arella a really positive outlook on speaking to someone about her feelings. Arella has really struggled with anxiety and big feelings since being diagnosed. Imagine being nine years old and being diagnosed with cancer after having a classmate pass away from cancer a year before. It’s unimaginable. I knew I needed to reach out for support not only for her physical health but her mental health.

We also had a family trip to Daisy Lodge, the charity’s short break centre. I had reflexology in the spa and it was first time I’d had an hour to myself in a long time. The kids loved it and said it was like Disneyland. It’s just a beautiful place. It’s so calm and relaxing.

We took part in a family art session, and we still have the piece we made from that. It was amazing to include the whole family, especially the siblings. When you have a sick child and you’re in survival mode, all your attention goes to them so including the siblings is great. Daisy Lodge made them all feel special.

This diagnosis changed our whole lives. Our world was turned upside down with one sentence, “Arella has cancer.” Now, it’s a matter of creating a new normal for ourselves and our children. We’re very thankful that Arella’s is a very treatable cancer which means she could get back to having a childhood. She’s still able to dance, do gymnastics and go on adventures but it’s just about managing things. She gets tired very easily and she has a lot of muscle and bone pain. We’re encouraging her to stay positive and try her best every single day and not only to survive with CML but to thrive. Arella will still achieve everything she wants to, and we can only hope that with the right support, we can guide her through this life-long journey.

This International Childhood Cancer Day, I would just say to parents to go with their gut instinct when they know something isn’t right with their child. If I didn’t have experience of childhood cancer, I don’t know if I would have pushed as hard. That’s why I want to raise awareness, so other parents are informed. Always trust your gut.

Childhood cancer is the hardest thing any family will go through, but if we remove the stigma and show people that there is no right or wrong thing to say, we can get down to raising awareness and funds to help provide support for these incredibly brave and vulnerable children and families. When you’re faced with your darkest days you need every single bit of support you can get and that’s what Cancer Fund for Children have been to us. We got support because of the fundraising efforts of someone before us.

You can help us provide vital support to more children like Arella. Click here to make a donation today!