Cancer survivor who rang bell days before Christmas in 2023 celebrates ‘medical miracle’ pregnancy this festive season

A cancer survivor who rang the bell just days before Christmas in 2023 is now celebrating “a medical miracle” this festive season as she looks to welcome her first child in the new year.

Frankie-Ella Lloyd, 19, from Chelmsford, Essex, was just 15 years old when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) – a type of blood cancer – in September 2021 after experiencing swelling on the right side of her jaw and “purple, red and black” dots on her legs.

The teenager said she started chemotherapy treatment the very next day, which she described as “painful” and “draining”, before she was told she was cancer-free in December 2023 and she rang the bell in hospital just days before Christmas that year, leaving her feeling “over the moon”.

Frankie-Ella said she was told she would not be able to conceive a child naturally after undergoing treatment, especially as it was thought her eggs had been “killed off” by the cancer that previously “riddled” her body.

However, she was left in “shock” and “disbelief” in May this year after discovering she is expecting a baby girl, and while pregnancy has “not been a walk in the park” with pains and sickness, Frankie-Ella and her family are looking forward to welcoming their “bundle of joy” in 2026.

“I don’t know how my body is doing this after going through so much already, it’s absolutely out of this world – my specialist said it’s a medical miracle,” Frankie-Ella told PA Real Life.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am struggling, I’m in a lot of pain compared to a normal pregnancy – and any pregnancy is hard – but after going through treatment, it’s even tougher.

“I was not expecting to have a child this young, but where I was told I couldn’t have children, it didn’t even cross my mind to not go ahead with it.

“I never thought I’d get to be a mum and this could be my only chance.”

Frankie-Ella was diagnosed with ALL when she was 15 on September 23 2021.

Her diagnosis followed several symptoms, such as swelling on the right side of her jaw, “purple, red and black” dots on her legs, dizziness and extreme fatigue.

The jaw swelling prompted a trip to the dentist, where she was then told she needed to go to hospital – and Frankie-Ella received her diagnosis at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, after having blood tests.

She was then transferred to University College Hospital in London, where she said she started chemotherapy treatment the very next day.

“At the time, I didn’t really realise how unwell I was and looking back, it was hell,” she said.

“It was a massive jump from being very independent to then relying on everyone else and not being able to leave my bed.

“I feel like my teenage years just got completely ripped away from me.

“I wasn’t able to do my GCSEs and I lost quite a few friends – not because of nastiness – but because no one knew what to say to me at the time.”

Frankie-Ella said she grew “really close” to her younger sister, Louisa-May Lloyd, 17, during this time, and the pair have since become best friends.

She added that she maintained “a strong mentality” throughout her cancer journey, feeling as though “giving up wasn’t an option”.

After undergoing treatment for more than two years, which was “painful”, “draining” and caused her to lose her hair, Frankie-Ella was told she was cancer-free and she rang the bell at Broomfield Hospital on December 21 2023.

She also completed her final chemotherapy session on December 23 2023 – just in time for Christmas.

“Without the support of other people, I wouldn’t have carried on to be honest, and I was very grateful to have actually rung the bell,” she said.

“I was completely and utterly over the moon when I did, it was the most amazing feeling ever – but it’s not like you ring the bell and your life goes back to normal.

“You’ve got to work your way back up and my body was absolutely buggered.”

Frankie-Ella said she will be monitored closely by teams at Broomfield Hospital for the next five years, as she said the “chance of relapse is the highest” during this time.

In a surprising twist, Frankie-Ella discovered she was pregnant on May 17 this year after previously being told she would not be able to conceive children naturally.

“I know my body very well after treatment, so I knew something was going on – I really didn’t think I was pregnant though,” she said.

“Sometimes they can freeze your eggs before you start treatment, but they couldn’t freeze mine as my body was riddled with cancer and it was thought it had killed my eggs off already.

“When I finished my treatment, I was told I couldn’t have children and I’d have to go down a different route, like IVF, if I wanted to in the future – so not for one minute did I think I was pregnant.”

Frankie-Ella said she was in “shock” and “disbelief”, and she took 16 at-home pregnancy tests to be sure before booking an ultrasound scan that confirmed the news.

According to the NHS, the ovaries might start working weeks, months or years after finishing chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment, but it is also possible that a person’s fertility might never recover.

Frankie-Ella is now 35 weeks along in her pregnancy and in a letter seen by PA Real Life, her doctor described the situation as “a medical miracle”.

She added the nurses and specialists who were charged with her care during her treatment and now, in her pregnancy, have “a special place in (her) heart”.

Frankie-Ella and her loved ones held a gender reveal celebration on August 2, where she discovered she is having a girl.

Her mother, Victoria Macdonald, 44, said: “We’ve been through the hardest times of our lives and we’re a lot more closer and stronger as a family.

“We can’t wait for our bundle of joy to arrive – it’s scary, don’t get me wrong, because it’s my baby having a baby now – but anything is possible.”

Frankie-Ella said her pregnancy has “not been a walk in the park” however, and she has experienced sickness and back pains.

She added it has “thrown her back” in terms of her physical recovery following chemotherapy treatment, but she said it is “all worth it”.

She and her baby are now being monitored with scans twice a week in the run-up to her due date in early January.

A birth plan is also being formulated, Frankie-Ella said, as she underwent 28 procedures on her spine – two bone marrow drillings and 26 lumbar punctures – during treatment.

The procedures have weakened the area, making it difficult for her push during labour and impacting her possibility of having an epidural.

“I’m flagged as really high risk and there’s lot of things that are being put in place – more appointments, more scans,” she said.

“They said the baby is going to be small and petite, I’m quite small anyway, and they’ve said she’s doing really well right now.”

Looking ahead to Christmas, Frankie-Ella said she and her family will “come together” and “appreciate” what they have.

She also said she is hoping to be a “strict” but “gentle” mother when the time comes.

“I know how special life actually is now and the fact it can get taken away from you,” she said.

“I want to give her the best life possible, I’m going to give her my all.”