A 22-year-old woman died after mysterious bruises on her body turned out to be signs of a rare blood disorder. Roxanne Archer was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a condition in which the bone marrow fails to produce enough new blood cells.
Discovery of the bruises
Roxanne's sister, Natalie, 33, from Fazakerley, recalled the moment the family noticed the bruises. Speaking to the ECHO, Natalie said: "I remember one day she got out of the bath. She had a towel wrapped around her. Me and my dad were in the hallway opposite to each other. She was in the middle, we were walking towards her, and she was covered in these bruises."
Roxanne told Natalie and their dad, Paul, that she had visited the doctors about the bruises and was awaiting their response. She had also had her hair cut, and it was not growing back as quickly as it normally did, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Diagnosis and hope
Soon after, the family received an emergency letter. Natalie said: "We got this emergency letter through the door to say, 'whatever you're doing, please stop and go to the hospital.' Roxanne wasn't in at the time, so I rang her. I could never forget it, it was heart-breaking. I started fretting but I had to be strong for her. She was in her boyfriend's house at the time and he took her straight to hospital."
Roxanne was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, characterised by the bone marrow's failure to produce sufficient new blood cells. Typical symptoms include fatigue, frequent bleeding or bruising, and it can also lead to hair thinning and shedding.
Despite the diagnosis, Natalie said there were reasons for Roxanne to remain hopeful. "The doctors gave us hope," she shared. "They said, 'it's curable, there's treatment out there but one of the main things she needs is a bone marrow transplant and the first person we go to are siblings.' I'm her only sister, so I got tested and it was a match."
Tragic loss
Roxanne was able to return home on Christmas Day 2010 to spend time with her family, who believed the transplant operation would save her life. However, she tragically passed away on February 14, 2011, just two days after developing an infection in her bowel.
Natalie explained: "If it was anybody else who'd got an infection in their bowel, they could operate on it. But because Roxanne's bone marrow wasn't functioning, and she didn't have any platelets to stop her from bleeding there was just nothing they could do for her."
Over 15 years later, Natalie remains heartbroken over the loss of her sister. She said: "She was amazing. The life and soul of the party. She loved going out and socialising with her friends. She was a typical big sister, very bossy to me. But she was kind. We lost our mum when we were very young, so she was like the mother figure to me. She was lovely. I miss her everyday."
Fundraising for Anthony Nolan
To honour Roxanne's memory, Natalie is tackling the Great North Run this Sunday to raise funds for Anthony Nolan, a UK stem cell transplant charity. The organisation's stem cell register connects potential donors with patients requiring transplants. The charity conducts cell and gene therapy research to boost transplant success rates and guides patients throughout their transplant experience.
When a patient suffers from a condition affecting their bone marrow or blood, a stem cell transplant could represent their greatest hope of survival. Medical professionals administer fresh, healthy stem cells to the patient through their bloodstream, where they start to develop and produce healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Natalie explained: "I'm doing the run for the Anthony Nolan charity because if I wasn't a match with Roxanne, we would have had to go down the stem cell transplant route, which Anthony Nolan help and support. The stats today say only one in four people who need a stem cell transplant will have a match within their own family. This is my first half marathon, so I'm nervous, but as long as I finish, I'll be happy. Anthony Nolan emailed me last year to say, 'would you be interested?' It was close to Roxanne's birthday, and I thought, 'oh, this is a little sign (to) do something out of your comfort zone and push yourself.' It's also in September, which is Roxanne's birthday month. I want to do it in memory of her, to keep her memory alive. We say, you die twice, once on the day you die and the day people stop talking about you, so I never want to stop talking about her."
