LLANELLI: ‘I’m happy with that, Mam’ — how 13-year-old Soffia faced losing her leg to beat cancer

When beating a rare and aggressive cancer meant losing her left leg, a 13-year-old from Llanelli gave her parents an answer they will never forget: “I’m happy with that, Mam.”

Soffia’s story has been shared this week by the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity, which supports the children’s hospital for Wales in Cardiff where she is being treated.

It began last August, when Soffia came home from a family holiday in Greece with her parents, Rhian and Jeremy, and her 10-year-old sister Cara — and started complaining of pain in her knee and leg, which her parents first put down to growing pains after a growth spurt.

But the pain worsened, Soffia began struggling in school gym lessons — and when her mum examined her leg, she found a lump on the inside of her thigh. She could feel it pulsating.

Rhian took her to the minor injuries unit at Llanelli‘s Prince Philip Hospital, where an X-ray revealed a lesion. “They gave us an envelope and told us we needed to go straight to PACU at Glangwili Hospital,” she said.

Urgent scans followed — MRI, whole-body, CT — and one conversation remains etched in Rhian’s memory: “The orthopaedic consultant said, ‘It doesn’t look good.'”

On Christmas Eve, Soffia travelled to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for a biopsy — staying overnight, watching her little sister open her Christmas presents over a video call, and waiting until the evening to open her own.

During the agonising two-week wait for results, her foot slipped from under her while she was out on crutches with her father — the tumour had weakened the bone so much that her leg fractured simply from taking her body weight.

She was taken by ambulance to Glangwili and placed in a cast from hip to ankle, and a second biopsy confirmed the diagnosis: telangiectatic osteosarcoma of the left thigh, a rare and highly aggressive bone cancer.

Chemotherapy began at the Noah’s Ark hospital — but after the second round it was clear it was not working as hoped, and the clinical team was left with two options.

A metal femur replacement would have left Soffia with very limited use of her leg, with too little healthy muscle to support it — and a greater risk of the cancer returning. The second option was amputation: life-changing, but the best chance of removing the cancer completely, and ultimately greater mobility through a prosthesis.

The decision was clear — but her parents were worried about how a 13-year-old would take the news. “She probably cried for about 30 seconds to a minute,” said Rhian, “and then said, ‘I’m happy with that, Mam.'”

Soffia had her left leg amputated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital at the end of April — and having seen how advanced the cancer had become, the surgeons reassured the family the right decision had been made.

There were setbacks in her recovery, including a frightening episode of severe headaches and vomiting — but she was soon home, and back on treatment just two weeks after her surgery, facing six further cycles of chemotherapy and immunotherapy before she can be fitted with a prosthetic leg.

She is already back at the cinema with family and friends — and back out with her beloved dog Poppy, who is more than happy to tow her wheelchair.

“She’s always looking at the positive side,” said Rhian. “She’s even planning on going back to horse riding.”

Art has helped her through it all — and when Daisy, one of the ward’s artistic nurses, offered her the job of painting a ward window, she chose a Rainbow Care Bear for Rainbow Ward. “She begged me to wake her up early so she could get a head start,” said Rhian. “She sat there painting all day. It’s so nice to see her getting back to something she enjoys.”

She has also struck up a friendship with a fellow Rainbow Ward patient — three-year-old Teddy — painting him Bluey, Marshall and elephants, with Teddy colouring a picture for her in return. Despite the 11-year age gap, the pair have swapped artwork throughout their time on the ward. “It’s so sweet,” said Rhian.

Noah’s Ark has long had support from Soffia’s home town — with a Llanelli retailer raising a six-figure sum for the charity among the fundraising efforts from the area — and her full story is on the charity’s website at noahsarkcharity.org.