'We thought baby had an ordinary cold - diagnosis didn't feel real'

Melody Aggett was diagnosed with a rare and fast-developing disease

A family was left heartbroken after what appeared to be a common cold in their baby turned out to be a rare form of a serious disease. Four-month-old Melody developed what her parents thought was just a cold back in April.

However, when her breathing deteriorated and feeding became difficult, parents Rachel-Elizabeth Hewitt and Kevin Aggett rushed her to hospital. Within hours, medics delivered the devastating news that Melody had acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) - a rare and aggressive blood cancer.

She was immediately transferred to paediatric intensive care in Southampton, where emergency treatment began, including chemotherapy, blood and platelet transfusions. She was later moved to Great Ormond Street Hospital for a b