"I thought they were going to tell me I was losing her": Hartlepool mum hails Miles for Men after daughter's leukaemia diagnosis

Leah Robinson, 29, feared her three-year-old little girl Lacey was going to die after she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) last July.

But from that ‘worst day’, life has been much more positive for Leah and her family and that’s down to the Hartlepool charity Miles For Men, she said.

They supported Leah, husband Reece 26, and their two other children – seven-year-old twins Sonny and Jessie – as Lacey had constant rounds of hospital treatment.

Today, Leah re-lived the dramatic story and how she plans to repay Miles For Men by walking 400,000 steps in March.

The Robinson’s world was turned upside down on July 7, 2020, when Lacey was taken to the University Hospital of North Tees’ accident and emergency department after she had pains in her legs, and was clingy, pale and lethargic.

Mum Leah said: “I thought they were going to tell me I was losing her. I thought they were going to say she is going to go. Everything was going through my mind.

“They did blood tests at North Tees and we were blue lighted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.”

Lacey was diagnosed with ALL and needs treatment which includes lumbar punctures under anaesthetic to have chemotherapy which reaches the fluid in her brain. She also has ALL in her bone marrow.

It means numerous hospital appointments for Lacey’s treatment although the three-year-old is now at home and ‘doing well’ on steroids and oral chemotherapy.

But Leah added: “From that first day which was the worst I have ever gone through, it has been positive.”

That’s partly down to the excellent support of Miles For Men which has not only supported Lacey but also Sonny and Jessie as well, said mum.

They provided presents for all the children at Christmas, pizza vouchers and a family trip to the cinema.

Leah said: “They remember every important date when Lacey has chemotherapy as well. I have had flowers turn up when they knew I was struggling.”

Miles For Men founder Micky Day said: "We like to involve all of the family as it is all of the family which goes through something like this. They go everywhere together and it is the little things that count.

"Lacey is adorable and it is so sad she has to go through this at any age, but 3 ….. it's not fair. We love her at Miles For Men.”

To say thank you, Leah plans to walk 400,000 steps in March to raise money for the Hartlepool charity.

She said: “I knew Miles For Men did the annual run but I didn’t know just how much else they did.

“I think that everyone should know about what they do and they should get a lot more support.”

Leah is already closing in on her target of raising £300 and anyone wanting to back her can donate here.

Micky founded the 5k Miles For Men run in 2012 in memory of his father Michael Day senior, who died aged 68 after a one-year battle with throat cancer.

There has been no stopping the town charity ever since.

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