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Scots cancer fighter Lily Douglas in self-isolation as 'terrified' mum blasts lack of coronavirus guidance


Inspirational young cancer fighter Lily Douglas has been in self-isolation over coronavirus fears since Monday.

“Terrified” Mum Jane took the decision to put their Perth home on lockdown at the start of the week after the pair woke up with symptoms of the potentially deadly bug.

Jane has blasted politicians and medical chiefs for a “lack of communication” with regards to vulnerable and high risk people, after she was left in the dark about the best way to proceed to protect her beloved daughter’s health.

Lily , 12, is being treated for a rare form of cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, which is in the youngster’s lungs.

The coronavirus illness Covoid-19, which has now been classed as a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation, can cause potentially fatal respiratory problems for high-risk patients, as well as pneumonia, which can be fatal for those with underlying health issues.

Jane said she had been in two minds about whether to take Lily to a Lewis Capaldi concert in Glasgow last Friday night, but decided she’d be safe enough because at that point, only seven people in Scotland had been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Jane told the Daily Record: “On Monday morning when Lily woke up, she had a sore throat and so did I and I just thought ‘oh my God’.

“I made the decision myself to self-isolate because we’ve really had no guidance at all from the hospital or anything. She’s been coughing like mad all week and her temperature has been playing tennis – high and low then high and low – so I just put us on lockdown on Monday to be safe.

“I’d been worried for weeks and was keeping a close eye on what was going on in other countries, but I made the decision to take her to the concert because at that point, there were only seven diagnosed cases in Scotland and I thought the chances of those seven people being at the concert, and Lily sitting next to them, were very slim.

“Now I’m hearing things like 100,000 people could be walking about with it unaware, and I’m terrified. I’m thinking maybe I did expose her too early. It’s so absolutely terrifying.

“I just think they’re not doing enough for the vulnerable and I cannot understand why they have not done more to stop the spread.

“I understand if they’re thinking you may as well let it spread and let most of the population get it, tell them to stay at home and take paracetemol. But everyone has an older person in their family, or someone with asthma or another issue, and that’s when it’s dangerous, but people are just supposed to sit and wait.”

Lily was diagnosed with cancer three years ago but is always upbeat

Jane said that a nurse came out to see Lily for a scheduled appointment on Friday morning to check if she was well enough for her latest round of chemotherapy next week.

The mum and daughter wore masks in a bid to protect the nurse in case they are carrying the bug, and are now waiting to find out if Lily needs to be taken to hospital to be tested for coronavirus .

Following a COBRA meeting on Thursday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson updated advice for anyone who believes they may be experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to self-isolate instantly for seven days, and under no circumstances should they go near any health centres or hospitals.

Testing will not be carried out for all citizens , apart from those who are considered high-risk, like Lily .

Jane added: “If her temperature had gone up to 38 I would have had to rush her to hospital, apparently there is a different door Lily goes through. I have been told whether this is coronavirus, or a different virus, we are allowed to bypass the 111 number and go straight to the hospital.

“In one way I do hope it is coronavirus and this week her body is fighting it off. Because if it isn’t, and it’s a different virus, it’s very much attacking her lungs and that’s where her cancer is, so that is why it is scary for us. If this isn’t coronavirus and that’s still to come, she’ll have no chance. I just have to pray this doesn’t happen.”

As if that’s not been enough for young Lily and her mum to deal with this week, the pair are also on tenterhooks as they wait to find out whether or not her cancer has spread any further.

The youngster, who has to take regular periods off school because of her illness , was diagnosed three years ago and is scheduled to have two more rounds of chemotherapy before doctors plan to move her on to an immunotherapy drug.

Despite the fact Lily has faced more challenges in her young life than most people ever have to, the youngster always has a smile on her face.

Jane is asking people to have a wee bit of sensitivity over the next weeks and months to what other people are going through, and to ensure they are taking all of the safety precautions which have been advised, as the country becomes even more gripped by the coronavirus pandemic.

She said: “I’m sharing a lot of updates on social media about things that are going on in places like Italy, and raising my concerns about the lack of information, and a lot of people are giving me statistics about kids not being at risk of coronavirus.

“I know most of them will be fine, and I think that’s fabulous, I really do, I’m glad of that. But they could be carriers and my girl will not be fine. It’s quite insensitive to say things like that to me because Lily’s cancer is in her lung, where the coronavirus affects, and that’s why I am so terrified.”

Lily, as always, remains upbeat , if a little scared about what’s happening at the moment.

But Jane believes that if anyone is up for the challenge of taking on a period of self-isolation , it’s her and her wee one.

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And she joked that the youngster has been enjoying a bit of respite and some time off her usually jam-packed schedule.

She added: “She had us in tears of laughter the other day when she told my mum ‘I quite like this coronavirus because I get to stay in the house and chill’. We just could not stop laughing at that and I thought it was fair enough because we’re always out and about doing nice things.

“The thing is, if we have to stay in the house for three to four months, that’s what we have to do and to be honest, we’re used to it. Sadly this is Lily and my reality for quite a lot of the year, a lot of times we have to lock the door and say no one can come in, if her blood counts are low, so this is not much different.

“She’s a wee bit scared at the moment but we just need to stay positive because the last thing I want to do is scare Lily, and we just have to pray that if she does have coronavirus, it doesn’t hit her too hard.”





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