'How my girl, 9, beat kidney failure and cancer'

"We thought it was a virus like a cold, a malaise. After multiple GP and hospital visits, one doctor said on our way out: 'Actually, I'm going to do a blood test. She does look a bit of an odd colour.' We did the blood test, and they came running back and said: 'There must be a mistake, because her electrolytes seem a bit off.' He said, 'Oh, her potassium is reading quite high.' And then things moved very quickly."

"Suddenly, we were moved into resus. Bay seemed very well—I remember Bay sitting up in resus on the bed—and they said, 'We think she's in kidney failure.' I was in utter disbelief and shock. There were dozens of doctors in the room and they were taken to GOSH by ambulance where she was intubated, put into a coma, and they very quickly told me that she's not going to survive the night."

"Jennifer remains unspeakably grateful to 'that one doctor that one million per cent saved her life'. She was told to 'prepare for the worst' as Bay was put on dialysis, as doctors feared it had 'gone too far'."

Bay, now nine years old, experienced kidney failure at age two after what initially appeared to be a viral illness. A timely blood test revealed dangerously high potassium levels, leading to emergency admission to Great Ormond Street Hospital where she was placed in a medically induced coma. Doctors warned her mother Jennifer that Bay would not survive the night. Despite these dire predictions, Bay recovered and received a kidney transplant. Years later, she was diagnosed with bowel cancer but achieved remission by November 2025. Throughout her hospital stays, Bay and her family received support from the charity Spread a Smile, which assists seriously ill children during extended hospitalizations.

Read at www.bbc.com