A BROMSGROVE nurse, mum-of-two and community champion who is suffering from leukaemia has issued a desperate plea for help to find a stem cell match to give her a second chance at life.
Emilia Shaw has worked in the NHS for 20 years and also gives her time up as a volunteer and scout leader, as well as running a group for new mums in the local area.
Emilia has recently been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia and will need a stem cell transplant.
She and her family are now working with the blood cancer charity, DKMS, to call on people to register as stem cell donors.
Over the summer, Emilia began to notice she was consistently exhausted, but initially she put this down to early starts for work and taking care of her two young boys – Henry, aged six, and four-year-old Felix.
However, this got worse in the following few months, and she also developed pounding headaches.
In December, she decided to go for a blood test at her GP practice and was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Emilia said: “I was just so tired all the time.
“I would feel tired at the wheel, and I’d even fallen asleep watching panto with my boys. So I went in and got my blood checked on a Monday morning. By tea time, I was in hospital having a blood transfusion, and the very next day I found out I had acute myeloid leukaemia.”
For patients with blood cancer, a stem cell transplant from a matching donor could be their only opportunity for recovery. Only one in three patients will find a match in their family.
Emilia has been undergoing treatment since she was diagnosed, and has missed key celebrations, including her birthday, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and her son’s nativity play.
She added: “It’s been tough for my husband Ben and our boys.
“Ben’s mum passed away three years ago after a very short battle with cancer, and then in January 2025, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time and had a mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. Also, Ben’s dad has chronic leukaemia, so it feels like our whole family has been affected.
“My youngest doesn’t really understand, other than ‘mummy’s blood isn’t working’, whereas my 6-year-old has more of an idea of what’s going on.”
Emilia reached out to DKMS after hearing the story Leo Sproson, 16 and also from Bromsgrove, who was also diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia this year but has now found a match and is preparing to have a lifesaving transplant.
Visit https://www.dkms.org.uk/get-involved/virtual-drives/emilia-shaw for more information on how to register.
