A West Lothian mother who insisted her 12-year-old daughter needed blood tests after being repeatedly told she had Covid or an ear infection has described her shock when doctors finally diagnosed leukaemia. Cheryl Robertson and her husband Stephen took Sophie to several appointments in November 2025, but it was only after Cheryl demanded blood tests that the family received the devastating news within four hours.
Symptoms Dismissed as Viral Infection
Sophie, from East Calder, experienced severe headaches, a full-body rash, and inability to keep food down for three weeks. Cheryl told Edinburgh Live: “Back in November she became unwell. We took her to see a doctor who said it was just Covid, and we went back again and they thought maybe an ear infection. We actually went to A&E one day and I requested for her to get bloods done. They rejected me and said it was just a viral infection.”
Cheryl persisted: “I went back on the Sunday night and thankfully someone listened to me, then they told me within four hours that it was leukaemia and they would have to start chemo right away. I knew to keep pushing, because kids bounce back. We were three weeks down the line and there was no bouncing back.”
Diagnosis and Treatment
Sophie was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer. She spent the next seven months at the Sick Kids hospital in Edinburgh. Cheryl recalled: “Initially it was just shock. I was there on my own, my husband was at home with my other daughter and it was around one in the morning. It was also like, well what’s next? Where do we go?”
The family faced “some really dark days,” including an incident where Sophie bled severely for four hours, requiring a team from St John’s Hospital to stop the bleeding. Cheryl praised NHS staff: “The care that Sophie got was second-to-none, we couldn’t have asked for more. Conor, the youth worker at the Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Edinburgh, was great at making sure Sophie always had something to do whilst going through treatment. The snug and designated rooms for teens on the unit really made a huge difference.”
Sophie’s Resilience
Despite the ordeal, Sophie remained strong. Cheryl said: “At first Sophie panicked, like all of us, but after that she was better than any of us. We’d be crying and she’d be like ‘what are you crying for, this is just part of the process and we need to get through it’.”
Sophie rang the bell to mark the end of her treatment a few weeks ago. She is now home and gradually returning to normal life, though she will not return to school full-time until around Christmas. “It will take a while for her body to be able to put up with it all every day. In the meantime, she’s just trying to enjoy going out with her friends again and get a bit of her personality back. There’s not as many bugs at this time of year, and she’s back dancing which is a huge thing for her,” Cheryl added.
Fundraising for Teenage Cancer Trust
Sophie’s eight-year-old sister Bonnie, along with friends Ellen and Harper, cycled 50 miles in May 2026 and held a large bake sale to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. They have raised over £3,000 for the charity. The Just Giving page states: “Eight-year-olds Bonnie, Ellen, Harper and friends are hitting the pavement to raise money for a great cause. They have committed to cycling 50 miles before the end of May 2026 to show solidarity for Bonnie’s sister as she undergoes cancer treatment and to fundraise for Teenage Cancer Trust.”
Charlotte, Relationship Manager for Scotland at Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “We are incredibly proud and grateful that Bonnie, Ellen and Harper have fundraised for Teenage Cancer Trust. The money raised will help us be there for young people with cancer by ensuring they can receive specialist care and support from our nurses and youth workers. We can’t thank Bonnie, Ellen and Harper enough for their incredible efforts.”
