THE parents of a toddler battling cancer who fought back after being given virtually no hope by doctors have appealed to the public to "pray for her."

Three weeks ago doctors asked Jim and Kellyann McNamee if they wanted to take 18-month-old Olivia home, fearing there was nothing more that could be done for the little girl.

After beating Acute Lymbastic Leukaemia (ALL) twice, thanks to a life-saving bone marrow transplant in December from her four-year-old sister Ellie, Olivia’s parents were dealt a crushing blow last month when they were told she had Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia (AML) a very aggressive cancer, that usually affects adults.

Doctors said they can find no other cases world-wide where a child had developed another cancer so soon after receiving a transplant and going into remission.

Her parents, who live in Alexandria, were told the cancer was extremely aggressive and it could just be a matter of days.

But against the odds, the little girl rallied and within days she was up watching her favourite Teletubbies show and drinking orange juice.

However, doctors at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow say they are “on new grounds” with Olivia and the next few days and weeks will be critical.

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Medics are waiting to see if her condition improves enough to be give more, high strength chemotherapy.

Dad Jim, 36, said: “When the doctors told us it might only be two days and to take Olivia home, we just thought, this is her home.

“She learned to walk and talk in here.

“They were getting ready to sedate her but I didn’t think she was ready to go. We now on day 18 of that two days.

“We both believe in prayer and there has got to be miracles out there. Olivia is a miracle in herself. I just thought, if she’s still fighting, then we have to.”

Olivia, whose granny is from Glasgow, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukamia on October 5, 2017, when she was just four months old.

The couple had taken her to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley a few times but her symptoms, which the couple say included a swollen tummy, had been put down to colic.

However, after her condition worsened and she was vomiting repeatedly, her parents took her back to the RAH, and she was quickly transferred to the intensive care unit of the children’s hospital in Glasgow.

Kellyann,30, said: “We got told the devastating news the next day that she had Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia.”

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Olivia spent four days in intensive care and was then transferred to the Schiehallion cancer ward to begin chemotherapy treatment. She spent the next eight months being treated in isolation but “breezed through” her treatment according to her parents, overcoming several line infections and Sepsis twice.

Jim, who is originally from the village of Kilcreggan, on the Rosneath peninsula in Argyll and Bute, said: “She got into remission after five weeks of the treatment starting.

“We were at home for three months and she was having maintenance chemo and was doing quite well.

“Then she stopped eating and was throwing up her medicine. We got taken back in and she was given a bone marrow test and they confirmed to us that she had relapsed.

“So it was onto the next treatment.They told us they didn’t know if they would be able to get her into remission again.

“But they got her into remission within two weeks and she was able to be put up for a bone marrow transplant. So she got a bone marrow transplant from her sister Ellie on my birthday, which was December 21.

“She sailed right through the transplant. We were then getting out on day and even night release.”

However, two weeks ago, Olivia’s temperature spiked and she was taken back into hospital.

Jim said:”They took us in and told us she had beaten ALL, twice, the transplant was fine but for some reason another cancer - Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia- had managed to grow through.

“So now, it was really, really aggressive. They then said they needed to start treatment straight away and she was given two type of chemo for five days.

“The treatment was drastic in size to what we were used to. They said to us that nobody in the whole world had relapsed this close to transplant.

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“The doctor was speaking to experts to try to find someone else but there was no answers.

“She started to get lumps and bumps on her face, which were discovered to be pockets of leukaemia.

“They asked us again if we wanted to continue with treatment. AT this stage, we are not up for giving up.”

Jim has been forced to give up his job as a joiner and the family have been staying at Marion’s House, run by the charity, Clic Sargent, next to the hospital, since their daughter was diagnosed.

He said: “It really tests your relationship.

“We’ve been married nearly ten years, this year so we are not just getting flung into this on a new relationship.

“Ellie was in school in Alexandria but we’ve had to take her out now. With her sister so close to dying, she had to be here. Financially it has been crippling.”

Doctors are waiting to see if Olivia’s white blood cell levels rise enough for more chemotherapy. She may also be given radiotherapy and another bone marrow transplant could also be possible, if her condition improves.

Kellyann said: “Olivia has taken everything in her stride. She has always, always got a smile on her face and you think, if you can do it darling then we can. She’s an inspiration to us and that’s what keeps us going. “

Jim said: “They are basically on a road now that Olivia can only lead.

“You can only take a day at a time, whatever cancer it is and whatever stage. We can’t plan anything.

“The whole team, from the auxiliaries, to the nurse and doctors, has been amazing. The support we have got from the public has been amazing.

"Celtic put Olivia's fundraising page up on the big screen which was amazing.

“What got us, was when the doctors said they didn’t think there was any hope but when we looked at her test results, all her organs were working and we though, she isn’t ready to give up any time soon.”

A Justgiving page has been set up for Olivia and to help the family through financial hardship. To donate money go to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jenna-blair