Mum given 'gut-wrenching' double diagnosis just after becoming a qualified GP

03 October 2023 , 11:03

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Jennifer Leighton was hit with a double diagnosis after she was struck with sepsis (Image: Jennifer Leighton)

A mum-of-three was given a "gut-wrenching" cancer diagnosis just after she qualified as a GP and has faced weeks without seeing her kids.

Jennifer Leighton, 41, from Liverpool, received the devastating news that she had an aggressive form of lymphoma in December last year. She was admitted to hospital on Christmas day, where she remained until February this year. However, the mum's health continued to decline after she was rushed to A&E with neutropenic sepsis just after she finished her fourth round of chemo in May.

Her friend, Louise Furival, explained she became so weak that she couldn't walk without a frame at times. Jennifer hasn't been well enough to frequently see her kids. Louise said: "She is a single mum of three children and I met her on the school run when she stopped to help an unwell pregnant mum.

Jennifer spent Christmas day in hospital last year (Jennifer Leighton)

"That is what Jennifer is like she goes out of her way to help others. It has been a tough year being away from them. It has been gut-wrenching, when she has been well enough they have been able to visit her but it has been very difficult. Her mum has moved in to look after the children.”

Louise, 41, added: “The sepsis brought fevers, fast heart rate, and very low blood pressure … She spent two weeks in the critical care unit, then had surgery to give her a colostomy stoma to give her body a chance to heal from the sepsis. She has had days when she was so weak that she couldn’t sit up. She had to use a frame to help her walk.”

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Jennifer, who is based in Wirral, is due to start a stem cell transplant in the coming weeks, which will involve the most intense round of chemotherapy that she has had, reports Liverpool Echo. The mum will have to spend another four weeks away from her children. However, it gives her the best chance of long-term remission.

“She has been dealing with it quietly and has been positive throughout despite all of the things she has gone through," Louise said. "She lost so much weight and knowing she has this gruelling treatment to come, she has been trying to regain the weight and doing everything she can to look after herself.

"The plan is she has got to have four weeks of the most intensive chemo yet and she she only allowed two visitors and they won't be her children. The fact that she has been put forward shows there is hope and the aim is full recovery.” If you would like towards her fundraising donate visit here.

Monica Charsley