Great North West Truck Show and Graham Poole team up to give a special treat to Moston girl Tallulah, 12, who is bravely battling cancer

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The Rochdale-based organiser of the annual Great North West Truck Show and local haulage company Graham Poole have given a special treat to a Moston girl who has cancer.

Brave Tallulah Ferns, 12, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia on 6 April this year after months of doctors’ appointments and blood tests. Her symptoms - which included weight loss, fatigue, aching bones, loss of appetite, easy bruising and a rash - were initially attributed to normal childhood illnesses.

Due to having a rare ‘Philadelphia chromosome’ - which is only found in developing leukaemia cells and can cause cancer cells to grow uncontrollably – Tallulah needs to undergo a bone marrow transplant to replace damaged blood cells with healthy ones.

After the surgery, she will need to isolate for around two months.

Her mum, Joanna Heap, explained that she thought her daughter was initially anaemic: “We took Tallulah to the doctor and explained her symptoms. She had a blood test in December, which all came back okay, except for one, so they asked for them to be repeated.

“Tallulah had a rash that came up on her cheeks and chest, and she was given antibiotics.”

The family waited six weeks for the repeat blood test, only to wait an additional six and follow up their with GP.

“We weren’t going to leave it as Tallulah wasn’t herself,” Joanna said. “She was falling asleep for hours, not eating. I knew as her mum that something wasn’t right. I thought maybe she was anaemic.”

Following a fall in her bedroom, Tallulah’s leg bruised and came up with “the biggest lump.” They were told to ‘keep an eye on it’ when they mentioned it at the follow-up blood test appointment, only for the doctor to contact them at 2am the next morning.

“We had Tallulah’s bloods done on 5 April, and at 2am on 6 April, the doctor was knocking at our door, telling us Tallulah was very poorly and needed to be admitted to hospital. I asked what it was and he said he suspected leukaemia,” Joanna continued.

 

What is acute lymphoblastic leukaemia?

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of blood cancer that starts from white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow.

Adults and children can get it but it is most often diagnosed in younger people.
Chemotherapy is the main treatment. Some people need to have a stem cell transplant.


Symptoms
Symptoms of ALL can be similar to those caused by other illnesses. The symptoms are caused by too many abnormal white blood cells and not enough normal white cells, red cells and platelets. 

Symptoms of ALL might include one or more of the following:

• feeling weak or tired
• flu-like symptoms
• a high temperature (fever)
• picking up or not being able to shake off infections such as coughs and colds
• bruising and bleeding easily
• weight loss
• swelling of your lymph nodes
• pain in your bones or joints
• breathlessness
• feeling full in your tummy (abdomen)
• looking pale or washed out

For more information about ALL, please visit the Cancer Research UK website.

Source: Cancer Research UK

 

Knowing Tallulah is facing a long isolation period after the operation, Rochdale’s Kieran Binns – who runs the annual Great North West Truck Show – teamed up with one of the show’s sponsors, Graham Poole Road Transport, to treat Tallulah.

Kieran said: “When we heard about Tallulah’s story, we knew we had to help.”

Just days before Tallulah turned 12 – the iconic bright pink Disney-themed Kelly’s Dreams truck at Graham Poole – which was commissioned in memory of Graham’s niece, Kelly Hancock, 37, who died of cancer in 2013 – made its way to Tallulah’s home with a very special surprise gift – the limited edition Disney100 Lego collector’s edition of the Disney castle.

 

 

The 100th anniversary set features over 4,800 pieces and eight minifigures referencing 14 of the studio’s classics, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Tangled, and the Princess and the Frog.

Despite her own illness, Tallulah raises money for other children at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, where she spends a lot of time. Earlier this year, she raised £1,000 for other children being treated on her ward – and treated them to soft toys.

The Great North Truck Show raises money for children’s charities such as the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Jolly Josh and Reuben’s Retreat. Since it started nine years ago, over £150,000 has been raised. It takes place in July at the Haydock racecourse and regularly attracts over 400 trucks.