'How my girl, 9, beat kidney failure and cancer'

A woman has described how her daughter managed to "beat the odds" time and time again after having kidney failure, a kidney transplant then a bowel cancer diagnosis.

Jennifer McNeill, 43, is mum to Bay, 9, who has faced life-threatening health issues since she was two.

From 2018 to 2025, Bay was in and out of London's Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) as kidney failure led to a transplant, before she was diagnosed with a bowel tumour and was given the all-clear in November 2025.

Jennifer has also credited the help they received by the charity Spread a Smile which supports seriously ill children during long hospital stays, saying she was "in absolute awe" of the work they do.

Bay fell ill in February 2018 aged two.

"We thought it was a virus… like a cold, a malaise," Jennifer, who lives in Barking, east London said.

After multiple GP and hospital visits, she said "one doctor said, on our way out: 'Actually, I'm going to do a blood test. She does look a bit of an odd colour'.

"We did the blood test, and they came running back and said: 'There must be a mistake, because her electrolytes seem a bit off'.

"He said, 'Oh, her potassium is reading quite high. And then things moved very quickly. Suddenly, we were moved into resus.

"Bay seemed very well – I remember Bay sitting up in resus on the bed – and they said, 'We think she's in kidney failure'.

"I was in utter disbelief and shock."

From then, Jennifer said "things just went at 100 miles an hour".

"There were dozens of doctors in the room and they were taken to GOSH by ambulance where she was intubated, put into a coma, and they very quickly told me that she's not going to survive the night."

Jennifer remains unspeakably grateful to "that one doctor that one million per cent saved her life".

She was told to "prepare for the worst" as Bay was put on dialysis, as doctors feared it had "gone too far".

Bay would need a kidney transplant but Jennifer had already donated one of her kidneys to her mother, who had diabetes.

Thankfully, Jennifer's identical twin sister Mimi, "instantly" volunteered.

By August 2021, after her health improved and following delays due to the Covid pandemic, Bay was able to have the transplant.

The surgery went well but it soon became apparent that Bay's lymphatic system had been damaged during the operation.

She remained in hospital until December 2021 and throughout it all, Spread a Smile kept them going.

The charity operates in hospitals across the UK and offers virtual and in-person visits from entertainers such as magicians, musicians, artists and therapy dogs for seriously ill children.

Over 2025 and 2026, Spread a Smile will deliver more than 18,411 in-person bedside visits and over 2,860 virtual visits, in partnership with 39 NHS hospitals and six hospice partners.

Bay's recovery from her transplant took around a year.

However, in early 2024 her blood tests became irregular, she began to look "quite puffy" and had blood in her poo, her mum said.

On 18 December 2024, Bay was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) and "things started moving very quickly again".

Bay had a biopsy and a lumbar puncture to ascertain whether it was cancer.

Doctors discovered a malignancy, with the lesion in Bay's bowel, and she would need chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

"I think it's every parent's worst nightmare, to be honest," she said.

By March 2025, after Bay had been receiving chemotherapy for three months, doctors said they would need to look for alternative treatments, as the lower dose of treatment wasn't effective and they were still reluctant to go down a more aggressive route.

"Reading between the lines, we knew what that meant," Jennifer said, and once again she and her family prepared for the worst.

"To get the cancer that Bay had – she had it quite aggressively in her bowel – was quite rare," Jennifer said.

In November 2025, Bay had a PET scan which confirmed there was no more evidence of cancer, which Jennifer said "was just the most wonderful news".

After Bay's remission was confirmed, she now requires twice-yearly PET scans.

Jennifer has been told the chance of relapse is low, but she knows that "it's always a possibility".

"We live for now, until the next scan," she added.

"We are just completely going to grab life with both hands. It's really hard to put into words how much you appreciate life.

"You're just thankful and grateful, and I can't believe it, almost, I cannot believe it.

"It's this feeling you've been waiting for and wishing and praying for the whole time, and you don't ever think you're going to get there and hear it, but it's wonderful."

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