Girl in coma opened eyes on Boxing Day after parents had said goodbye fearing worst

A girl who was put in an induced coma with her parents saying what they thought was their final goodbye opened her eyes on Boxing Day in what her mum said was the 'best Christmas present ever'.

Sophie Laidler was diagnosed with leukaemia in October 2016.

Days before Christmas her parents Nicola and Paul were told to kiss and cuddle their precious daughter in case she didn't make it.

The nine-year-old had contracted sepsis and pneumonia, reports the Chronicle Live.

But against all the odds Sophie opened her eyes and is said to be over the worst.

More than two years on from her diagnosis Sophie is looking forward to a much happier Christmas and - the best gift of all - ringing the 'end of treatment bell' in January as she finishes her chemotherapy

Nicola, from Seaham, started to notice in summer 2016 that her daughter had started to go off her food and seemed a bit more tired than usual

And in October that year she saw that Sophie had developed a rash on her stomach and took her to A&E at Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Blood tests showed that she was anaemic and needed transfusions - so Sophie's dad Paul stayed with her as doctors decided to keep her in overnight.

"At 1am my phone rang and it was Paul, crying, saying she had blood cancer," said Nicola.

"It was just horrific. I remember screaming down the phone saying 'she's not going to die'."

Sophie was moved to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary and started chemotherapy as an outpatient.

But in November Sophie was rushed to hospital again when she got a temperature.

Nicola said: "As time went on she just got worse and worse. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, she was so sick.

"She was on a cliff edge and could go either way.

"She was struggling to breathe because of the lung infection so doctors put her on a ventilator but to do that they had to put her asleep.

"They told us that if she didn’t wake up on her own she may not wake up at all, but it would give her body the best chance to fight.”

Nicola and Paul and Sophie’s siblings Chloe, 10, Heidi, eight, and Harrison, four, prepared for the worst.

It was during these darkest hours in the hospital parents’ room that Nicola met Sabrina, a Rainbow Trust Family Support Worker from the North East Care Team.

“I had been in with Sophie for a long time and she wasn’t getting any better,” Nicola said.

“Sabrina started talking to me and sat me down while I cried and shortly after she began supporting us.

"Just before Christmas she came in with Christmas presents for the children. I’d been in hospital with Sophie since November so I hadn’t had time to wrap anything or do much shopping.

"I was so touched that she did that for us.”

But as the family prepared for the possibility of losing her, Sophie's condition started to improve and on Boxing Day she opened her eyes.

"It was literally the best Christmas present we all could have got," Nicola said.

As Sophie's condition started to improve, her chemotherapy restarted and she even went back to school.

She is now on chemo tablets and is due to finish her treatment on January 31.

Nicola said: "I love Christmas, I've always loved it, but sometimes I really struggle now listening to Christmas songs.

"When I hear them I remember being in the hospital hearing these little choirs singing Christmas carols and thinking I was saying goodbye to Sophie.

"I don't know how we got through it but we're over the moon we've still got her and we want to make this one special.

“Sophie’s now doing really well. I don’t think you can ever really rest, you always have worries in the back of your mind, especially knowing all the families whose children have relapsed, but things are looking good at the moment.

“Sophie’s due to finish chemo on January 31. That’s when we can say she’s kicked cancer’s bum and throw her an end of treatment party.”

Nicola is also extremely grateful to Sophie’s step-mother Vicky, Paul’s wife.

“While Vicky was pregnant with Sophie’s baby sister Lucy I was able to drop the kids off with her while I went to hospital to be with Sophie,” Nicola said. “We are a very close-knit family, which really helped.”